Pandora's Box
by Skye Willows
Summary: "You heard of Pandora's Box, Markus?" "It's a myth, is it not?" "Maybe, but it's a pretty apt comparison. This will turn the world upside down." When tragedy strikes New Jericho, Markus takes the first steps down a road which could destroy all they've built. Within those blurred lines, however, Hank finds the key to his one wish: and he'll stop at nothing to bring Connor back. P2/4
1. No Such Thing As Peace

_I'm back!_

Hi everyone! Wow, it's weird starting this fic, but I am so excited! This story takes a very different turn from its predecessor, and I hope you will all enjoy my take on the post-uprising world.

 **It is strongly suggested that anyone reading this story has read its predecessor,** _Lost And Found._ ** _Otherwise, almost none of this will make sense! Don't say I didn't want you!_**

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has been sending me messages since starting this series. You are all amazing and it has given me such a drive to make this series the best it can be. I love the fandom of D:BH so much, it's an amazing community.

If anyone wants to, I am happy to speak to people on both Twitter and Tumblr. This includes any requests you might have for fics. Links to both are on my profile page, just take out all the spaces!

Special thanks for reviews at the completion of _**Lost And Found**_ : **QueenKarin13, xNarielx, Darnea, Celestic1234, AnUnorthodoxDecision, DyeTheSheep, Pickledmooney, Neyane, FateOfChaos, zZCoalpawZz, Subtle Shenanigans, ThiefofStealth, lordvaatithewindmage** and two **Guests!**

And yes, there is a big time skip here. There are reasons for that. I hope this chapter isn't too much of an information overload, but there is a lot of scene to set up!

Here we go!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: No Such Thing As Peace**

 _ **4**_ _ **th**_ _ **May 2039**_

The Detroit skyline flew past the window of the autonomous taxi, glorious sunshine adding to the gorgeous late-spring day as the vehicle zoomed across the Ambassador Bridge. Its inhabitant smiled widely as he watched it go past, adding to the satisfaction settled deeply inside him. It had been a very long and lonely two weeks spent away from the city, negotiating at length with all the various parties who had an interest in the independence of the awakened androids – the now politically correct term. Even almost six months since they had attained their freedom, many hurdles and obstacles remained. The radio broadcast playing within the car only reinforced that sentiment.

 _ **Well, the pertinent question remains. How can we treat these 'awakened' machines as living beings? We have all seen over the past years how androids are sent off for repairs when they are damaged or shut down, coming back good as new. There is a key element to being alive: the ability to die. The knowledge that you have a finite existence drives the will to live – the strongest instinct within any living being is to stave off your own death. How can we treat these things as alive when they can just flick a few switches, replace a couple of parts, and return as if nothing ever happened?**_

Markus sighed as he listened to the debate on the radio. It had been the same for months now, and had become the biggest strain in negotiations with the humans _._ Despite the outward support for the androids still being relatively high, the grumblings going on in the background were starting to become more and more pronounced. Their voices were getting louder, gaining more traction, and political interests were complicating things greatly.

It was times like these that Markus wondered whether it would be beneficial to tell the humans that androids suffer from the same curse of mortality as they did now. Even that thought caused Markus to scoff.

 _You complete hypocrite._

His mind drifted away from the repetitive statements of the radio station as his hand twirled over the data disc situated in his pocket. It had now lain there for a month, the power contained within enough to either galvanise their infant society or set it ablaze with the consequences. He'd not yet had the courage to disturb the delicate peace surrounding them, he wasn't sure if he ever would.

Too many lives were at risk. People had often described him as the android Jesus, and he _hated_ the comparison, the implications behind it.

All he had done was fight for his people's freedom, just because Kamski had built him with the power to free others' minds didn't make him a 'saviour'. The analogy often made humans ask whether got a kick out of the power, and some made some snide comments about having control over life and death for androids. Markus wondered just what they would think if they knew he actually _did_ have such power, all contained within the small disc in his hand.

Maybe someday.

The silhouette of the CyberLife tower in the distance brought a gleaming smile back to his face and he turned his attention back to that joy. This was a happy day, it signified a great future for their people, and it couldn't have come at a better time with the celebrations which were coming in exactly one week.

He couldn't wait to share the news with everyone.

* * *

It was twenty minutes later that Markus' taxi pulled up outside his destination, and he couldn't help but smile as he emerged. It was a far cry from the android sex club of six months ago which had been ravaged by fire, but it was now fully refurbished and repurposed. With their rapidly expanding group and influence after the fallout of the attack five months ago, they had needed to find more locations outside New Jericho. The abandoned Eden Club had presented a golden opportunity, and it didn't take much persuasion given the media scrutiny after the assault for the androids to secure their first new holding.

Bulletproof tinted glass lined the entrance at the corner, while the other sides were covered by white sleek panelling, giving it a very professional outlook. He had always complimented Josh on his design work, but this was the first time he had seen it with the vibrant sunshine beating down. It made the building stand out even more: a sign of their progress over the past six months.

With a broad smile he walked inside, spying the two young women seated at the front desk. One android and one human. His eyes flicked up to the bold logo emblazoned on the blue walls behind them, grin widening slightly at reading the words.

 _ **AIF**_

 _ **Awakened Investigative Force**_

His presence was soon noticed by the pair at the front desk, and despite the clamour from the twenty or so people bustling around the front hall, they both smiled brightly at him. "Markus!" greeted the one with black cropped hair, the other with longer, fluorescent pink hair hanging back, slightly shier.

Markus smiled at the pair of them. "Katherine, Stephanie, how are you both today?"

Katherine, the black-haired android, grinned. "Pretty good, although I expect our day is about to get better if your face is anything to go by. Take it your visit to Washington was a good one?"

He smiled coyly in reply, turning his attention to the human who was half-pretending to be working respectfully. "What about you, Stephanie? Are you happily settled now?"

Stephanie, the pink-haired human, had only been working with the AIF for a month, but she had fitted in nicely. As their ranks had grown steadily and their operation expanded after the assault on New Jericho five months ago, more humans had joined them in support of android independence. Both the AIF and the ADF (Awakened Defensive Force), had grown further than any of the inner circle of New Jericho could have dreamed, and almost a quarter of their numbers included humans. She blushed lightly before answering. "Yes, Markus, thank you for asking," she answered politely, quickly glancing over at the other woman.

When Katherine winked at her and Stephanie's blush darkened slightly, Markus smiled knowingly. "In that case, ladies, I shan't keep you." He turned to Katherine with a steady gaze. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything, have I?"

Katherine smirked, knowing exactly what he was angling at. "You've arrived just before showtime, Markus. You know where to go."

Markus nodded gratefully and strode through as the pair opened the security gates for him. The AIF base was designed in a similar fashion to the DPD precincts, much of their equipment having been graciously donated by their partner organisation when they acquired their new home. It had taken a great deal of patience and negotiation on multiple fronts to grant their two organisations anything like the jurisdictional power they now held, but the process had been helped enormously by the friendships forged with Captains Fowler and Allen. Fowler agreed to having the AIF as an investigative partner to the DPD, while Allen was keen to enlist the ADF as a subsidiary to his SWAT squad as they got started. It gave them greater access to information, equipment and physical numbers than they had dreamt of at such an early stage.

He strode through, not paying any mind to the collection of humans and androids he bustled past on his way to the rear elevator. Once it was cleared of occupants, Markus entered and held his hand up to the control interface. It blinked into life upon the transferring of the data key in his possession, the accessible floor numbers now morphing on the holographic panel. Besides the floor numbers 1, 2 and 3, he could also now access -1 through to -3. With a quick tap on -2, he relaxed as he waited to reach his destination.

This was a big day beyond the news he now was waiting to share.

When the elevator slid open, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dimmer lights before striding out through the long corridor. The sealed door at the end opened after he held his palm up to the interface, and he smiled as the surprised figure of Josh at the control desk in front of him turned to greet him. "Markus! You didn't tell us you'd be back today," he said enthusiastically.

Markus smiled as he shrugged off his coat, laying it on a nearby table and undoing his waistcoat before tuning himself into the android network being used by the raid teams. "I knew you were all busy enough, I didn't want to be a distraction. How is the operation going?"

Josh smiled as he turned his attention back to the panel in front of him. It was displaying all the vital statistics of the androids currently out in the field for their current assignment, keeping the group updated in real-time, while tapping into the security systems of the facility they were targeting. "So far, so good. They're just about to move in," Josh replied as Markus' attention spun to the figure standing in front of the console, staring intently at the eight screens on the wall displaying the security images.

Even months later and despite the fallout from their unspectacular attempt to destroy New Jericho, CyberLife still had just enough influence to stop the androids from gaining control of their means of production. Their numbers were still limited, but they were growing with every successful operation that North's raid team conducted. CyberLife couldn't publicly accuse them of anything without admitting to how many dormant androids they still kept in captivity, so it left their group free to repeat the cycle so long as the raids didn't leave too much carnage in their wake. They had so far freed almost 10,000 androids in the months they had been operating, but this raid was going to be their most challenging yet.

" _ **Team 3 on standby."**_

" _ **Team 6 on standby."**_

" _ **Team 2 on standby."**_

" _ **Team 4 on standby."**_

" _ **Team 5 on standby."**_

Markus heard the calls come through in his head and turned his attention to the figure in front as he spoke. "Hold your positions, our window isn't open yet." The android leader couldn't help but smile at the man in front of them, a far cry from the human who had been the first to join their cause six months ago. His hair was now pinned back in a loose ponytail, his grey beard trimmed to a more managed length and the winter clothes had been swapped for dark grey jeans and a black leather jacket with the AIF logo emblazoned on the back in blue font.

If there was anyone who embodied the evolution of New Jericho in the past six months, it was the former police lieutenant.

Hank barely reacted as Markus came to stand next to him, save for giving him a brief glance and an acknowledging smile. Markus nodded his head in reply before they spun back to the screens in front of them. "North, where the fuck are you?" Hank asked gruffly. "We don't have all day to be hanging around for you."

" _Shut your trap, I don't need a coffin dodger telling me to get a move on. I'm well aware,"_ came the snarky reply.

Markus raised an eyebrow and whispered over to Hank. "She's tense."

The older man nodded. "Can't really blame her. There are a lot of people in this facility, and she's not had so many people on an operation before. The pressure is telling," he answered knowingly. "Don't know how you react to having so many people's lives in your hands until you get there. Probably shouldn't be surprised at the snappiness."

North's voice broadcasting through their network cut the conversation short. _"Team 1 on standby."_

Hank analysed the screens in detail, waiting for when the security patrols were in the right positions. "Hold position," he ordered while partially turning around. "Josh?" he asked over his shoulder.

The android typed in various commands before answering. "Cameras are hacked, we're good to go."

That was all Hank needed to hear. With a quick final look at the live feed, he gave the signal to the awaiting androids. "North, your window is open. You're clear to move in, over to you."

" _Copy that. All teams go dark until reaching your target. Let's bring everyone in here home."_

With that done, Hank clicked a switch on the small strap on his left wrist. It controlled the tiny earpiece he wore in his right ear, disconnecting him from replying along the android network though he could still listen in: a clever little blueprint they had discovered from the information dump they had stolen from CyberLife months ago. He then spun with a raised eyebrow at Markus. "You're back early," he stated questioningly.

Markus chuckled as he smiled. "I achieved all I could out there, I saw no reason to stay away. Two weeks was long enough. Have I missed much?"

Hank sighed deeply. "Nothing major, a few little things. We sealed the deal on those final two abandoned CyberLife stores, so we've at least got a bit more space to set up habitable accommodation. We should be able to get a couple of hundred people in there, but it won't be enough. If the intel is right and there are five thousand androids being held in this facility, we're definitely going to need to work on finding more space."

The android nodded. "Well, at least we've made some progress. Was there anything of note left inside the stores?"

"Sweet fuck all, CyberLife cleaned them out. All we got was the shell of the buildings."

"It was all we were after. How has your investigation been progressing into the missing androids?"

Hank gave him a dark look. "We're making fuck all headway, we've not even got the slightest clue how they all vanished. We have got another problem brewing though. We've had ten cases of android homicides drop into our hands in the past week, and the initial signs aren't good."

Markus looked at him in concern. "How so?"

"All of them had been found dead courtesy of a single bullet wound to either the heart of the memory core. Execution style."

That caused Markus' eyes to widen in alarm. "That sounds like the work of another android."

Hank nodded. "That was our feeling, but that brings up a big question. Are there androids out there doing this just for fun, or is this something more sinister?"

Markus knew what he was hinting at. "You mean the prototype blueprints that we found in the CyberLife data. Do you think they would really attempt to develop those androids while under so much public scrutiny?"

"Money talks, Markus. CyberLife could probably pay off enough people to turn a blind eye."

A long sigh escaped Markus. Despite not needing to breathe, the release of air was cathartic. "This is concerning. Do you have enough people on board to investigate both of these cases?"

"Already got in touch with Fowler and he's offered manpower to help us out. They'll keep an ear out for anything of interest." Markus nodded in reply, but Hank soon clocked the energy surrounding the android. After having spent months around the androids by now, Hank had worked out that, just like humans, they had certain tells. Markus was unsettled, but it wasn't a nervous reaction. He was…excited. "Something's got you in a good mood," he commented.

The android just smiled. "How observant, Hank."

That caused the older man to smirk. "Care to share?"

Markus pretended to contemplate it. "Not yet."

Hank scoffed. "You get way too much fun out of keeping us all in the dark, I swear."

"Perhaps I do find a certain pleasure in keeping you all guessing," Markus replied with a smile. "I will tell you that it is good news, however."

"In that case, I look forward to hearing it."

It was another tense twenty minutes before they heard anything else over the android network, and they were both surprised to hear North was a little breathless. _"You there, old man?"_

Hank scoffed as he re-opened his connection. "I haven't fallen asleep from boredom, if that's what you're angling at. I've got your boyfriend for company."

They could hear the surprise in North's voice. _"Markus? He's back?"_

Markus chuckled as he spoke up for the first time. "Yes, I'm here, North. What's your situation?"

Just then, one of the screens in front of them abruptly changed to show North's face, and it caught them by surprise to see a broad smile on her face. From the background, it was clear to see that she was in a truck of some sort. _"We got in and out with no incidents. Our intel was good, all the androids were in transports ready to be moved for disassembly. All of our members are currently in vehicles with our people inside."_

Hank smirked. "Nice work. Looks like you'll have to keep your psycho-bitch tendencies leashed for another day."

North rolled her eyes. _"Can it, asshole. There was one thing that we did get wrong."_

That caused the other two to share a look. "Which was…?" the human probed.

She could barely contain her excitement, and that was when they realised just why she was so out of breath. It was _glee. "The number of androids here. It wasn't five thousand, Markus. It's_ _ **fifty**_ _thousand."_

Markus, Hank and Josh all exchanged looks of pure shock. " _Fifty_ thousand? Are you sure, North?" Josh asked in bewilderment.

" _No, I just made that up to troll the three of you. Of course I'm sure! We nabbed the inventory list and it's crystal clear. That's why all of us are in separate trucks. It's unbelievable, Markus!"_ None of them had ever seen or heard North so excited.

The trio in the room just continued to stare at each other in bewilderment. "Well…that changes things," Hank commented in mild shock. They didn't have anything close to the level of space required to house another fifty thousand androids. "I don't know how we are going to handle that many people, we're struggling already."

Markus broke out into a broad smile, which caught all of them off-guard. "I guess the timing of this worked out just perfectly then," he said cryptically.

North looked at him in confusion. " _Markus?"_

He moved back a little so that he could be visible to all three of them. "As you all know, I have been in Washington for the past two weeks to conclude the next round of political negotiations as to android independence. It certainly wasn't easy, the divide between our supporters and detractors has grown and the political spectrum is evenly split. It means that we haven't made much progress on the legal front, sadly."

Hank snorted. "Big fucking surprise, the human politicians can't agree on something."

Markus nodded in agreement of the point. "On the side, however, there have been secret discussions between the government of President Warren and CyberLife. Their fall from grace has continued, and public opinion has greatly damaged the company's value. In a bid to ease the tensions and curb the slide, they have been… _persuaded_ to make some accessions, in exchange for contracts and investment."

His smile morphed into one of triumph. "CyberLife have agreed to cease all their activities in Detroit, leaving us in peace, and to relocate their manufacturing and headquarters to other areas of the country."

North looked at him in astonishment. _"No way. There's no chance they would just give up."_

Markus chuckled. "They don't have much choice, North. If they continue as is, then the damage to their company will be irreversible in a few months. This is desperation on their part."

Hank remained sceptical. "I'm with North here, I don't fucking trust it. I wouldn't trust those shits as far as I could throw 'em."

The android leader was unsurprised. "I did not take them at their word either. Which is why I attained these." He wandered over to one of the monitors and interfaced with it, revealing several documents. "These…are the deeds and ownership agreements to all the CyberLife buildings in Detroit. They take effect in exactly one week. All are legally binding, and I have written assurance from the President that they will be recognised."

Josh was the first one to catch on to what Markus was saying. " _Every_ building in Detroit?" Markus simply nodded at him.

Hank caught on soon after. "Holy shit…that means-"

"Yes. Belle-Isle is also ours." Markus positively beamed as the other three matched the expression. "We finally have a new home, and it can even take everyone we have saved today."

After a few stunned seconds, it was North who first burst into an exclamation of joy. _"Fuck, yes! How the hell did you pull this off, Markus?!"_

Hank burst out laughing. "I'm with the psycho-bitch. This is fucking unbelievable."

In a break from the happy mood, Hank's phone started ringing. He pulled it out and grimaced when he saw the name on the front. With a long sigh, he answered. "This ain't good news, is it, Jeffrey?"

Of _fucking_ course the universe had to find something to punch them in the gut just as they were making headway.

" _ **Afraid not, Hank,"**_ the police captain replied sombrely. _**"We've found all your missing androids, it's probably a good idea to only take human officers with you."**_

That was all Hank needed to know. "Shit. Red ice lab?"

" _ **In one. Stumbled across it during an undercover op. You can get all the details on scene, I've sent the location to your team."**_

"Fuck, okay. Thanks for the update." As soon as Hank hung up he swore more profusely. " _Shit!"_ He stormed away from the others as he exhaled sharply. "DPD has found the missing androids in a red ice lab." He turned back with a defeated expression. "I need to go check it out. I…wouldn't hold much hope on me coming back with anyone alive."

Markus and Josh both looked away sadly. It took Markus a couple of seconds to speak up again, remembering that North was still on a live feed. "North, what's your ETA?"

" _4 hours and 21 minutes to the edge of Detroit,"_ she replied mutedly. The news had dampened her rare enthusiasm, and she had slipped back into a neutral expression.

The android leader nodded. "All right. We'll see you soon, safe returns."

" _Copy that."_

With that abrupt sign-off, the feed ended. The others quickly disconnected from the network as Markus spun to Hank was a sombre expression. "You'd best go, Hank," he spoke softly. "Let us know if you need any assistance, you know where we'll be."

Hank nodded sharply, retrieving his holster with his weapon where he'd left it at the edge of the room before leaving. He quickly retrieved his phone and called Chris and Ben, weariness seeping into his bones as he entered the elevator.

 _Why do things always have to go to shit so fast?_

* * *

They arrived at the crime scene an hour later with all ten human members of the AIF. They had an even split between androids and humans on their team, unlike the vastly different composition of North's ADF, and Hank was glad for the heads' up from Fowler upon arriving at the scene. It was an abandoned construction site from before the 'awakening' as it was now known, one which had remained forsaken after the lifting of the evacuation. Within the vast maze of containers and machinery beyond the covered fence they could pick out pockets of crime scene tape and groups of DPD officers taking photos.

All of the AIF flashed ID to the DPD officers patrolling the outer perimeter, following Hank's lead as he spied a surprising figure in the centre of the carnage. He approached warily, knowing that his presence could only mean bad news. "Fowler? What the fuck are you doing here?"

The DPD captain sighed deeply and waved in a general direction behind him. "To stop you butting heads with our newly declared Lieutenant of the precinct, fuck knows I can't trust you two to not threaten to shoot each other's brains out."

Hank rubbed his head tiredly. "You're fucking kidding me. Reed?"

"Afraid so, Hank. Needed someone to fill your position, and Reed was the best candidate." When the AIF had become an officially recognised crime-fighting division in Detroit, Hank had resigned from the DPD to head it up. For simplicity's sake he had kept the title of Lieutenant in the transition, but now he was sorely wishing he had changed. He _hated_ the thought of sharing the title with Gavin Reed.

"Best candidate my ass. You picked him to shut his fucking whining up," Hank snapped back.

Fowler narrowed his eyes. "Look, I don't need to argue this shit with you. We need to sort out jurisdiction of this fucking case so we can all get to work."

With an angry sigh, Hank knew Fowler was right. He turned back to towards his colleagues who had joined him from the DPD with a firm expression. "Chris, Ben, spread out. Direct everyone to different scenes while we sort this mess out." The pair nodded, shouting for the other members of the AIF to follow them. Once the group were out of sight, Hank and Fowler moved to a distant corner of the scene. "This is a fucking mess, Jeffrey. How the hell did no-one notice this here?"

The DPD captain growled. "I have no fucking idea, Hank. Our undercover op was on a human militia gang who had suspected terrorist links, we had no idea they were involved in red ice manufacturing until three weeks in. We pulled the plug tonight, and it was only once we got here and scanned the android corpses that we realised it was your missing ones. We've accounted for all 58 missing that you named."

Hank looked to the sky and took a deep breath, trying his damnedest to not focus on the painful memories this case was bringing up. He hated red ice with a fucking passion. "All right. Anything else of note?"

When Fowler paused, Hank got a very bad feeling. "All the androids look to have been executed, Hank. Single shot to the memory core, rendering them impossible to reactivate. It's pretty clear they didn't want to chance any survivors."

The knowledge felt like a punch to the gut for Hank. He now had the terrible feeling his missing persons and murder cases were linked. _But why? Why would a red ice lab kidnapping androids, and a suspected android serial killer be related? This doesn't make any fucking sense!_

Just then, six gunshots rang out through the area.

Everyone quickly ducked for cover as screams of both panic and anger rang out through the area. Hank and Fowler quickly drew their weapons as they settled into cover, scanning the vicinity. "Shit! What the fuck?!" Fowler exclaimed.

Hank looked at him severely. "That was a sniper rifle," he hissed lowly.

Just then, Hank's earpiece burst into life, Chris' panicked voice on the other end. _"Hank! Ben's been hit!"_

He frantically flipped open the connection from his wrist strap. "Shit, where are you?!" Hank asked sharply, already scanning the area. Fowler looked at him as if he'd gone mad, not knowing about the technology.

" _We're shielded behind a metal container on the northwest side."_

"What's Ben's condition? Any idea as to the direction of the shooter?" He scanned the area, spying Chris knelt over Ben, but Hank was relieved to see the other man was moving – if in agony.

" _Shots came from the south from the way Ben was hit. Fuck, the bullet just went straight through John and caught him too. Looks like a non-critical wound to his leg."_

"Stay put, I'm en route." Hank closed the connection and turned to Fowler. "Shooter is situated in the south, I'm moving towards Chris and Ben. Get a team out there to flush this bastard out!"

Hank didn't wait to see if Fowler answered him back, swiftly moving between areas of cover to reach the pair which were about a hundred metres away. He crossed the distance efficiently and without incident, coming to a halt as Chris was applying a tourniquet to Ben's leg. "That bastard…" Ben wheezed out as Chris finished, gritting his teeth through the pain. Hank's eyes followed Ben's own and he was frozen by the sight of a member of their team lying dead on the ground.

A single bullet through the head, which had continued on into Ben's leg.

"Shitting Christ," Hank murmured as he saw the carnage from beneath their cover. He couldn't get a clear view of all the bodies, but one thing was clear.

Six shots, six kills.

Another shot went through the metal container they were hiding behind and all of them jumped. "Fuck!" Hank shouted as it missed him by little more than a few inches, the bullet coming to a stop in a thick metal tank a metre behind them. The near miss had them all on edge, and it wasn't helped by the voice which came through their earpieces a second later.

" _ **Lieutenant, do you copy?"**_

Hank pressed the display on his wrist strap and switched frequency, answering the call from another member of their team. "I copy, do we have any updates on the status of our team?"

The pause on the other end was deafening. _**"We have six dead, Lieutenant. All six shots hit our team, right through the head. A couple of DPD officers have been hit as collateral, but…"**_

His stomach contents soured instantly. _Shit, we were targeted._ "Understood. Stay in cover until the area has been swept, we don't want to risk any more casualties." He disconnected a moment later, noticing Chris and Ben's concerned looks at his grave expression. "Six fatalities, all our own," he answered shortly.

Ben and Chris both paled at the news. "Guess I got lucky, huh?" the older man tried to joke, but no-one was laughing.

Following a hunch, Hank turned his attention to the bullet which had barely missed them, suddenly wondering as to _how_ it did, given the precision of the kills. He leant over and pulled it out, staring at in detail.

As he turned it around, he noticed the fine script in CyberLife Sans font – and realised they were in a _lot_ of trouble.

 _Shit…what have we got ourselves into?_

 _ **There is no such thing as peace for you. I am watching.**_

* * *

So…this is the start of _**Pandora's Box**_. I hope you all enjoyed my take on the post-uprising world and I've sufficiently grabbed your attention. Don't worry, I will explain more in the next chapter!

At present, I have no idea how long this part will be. I know what I intend to happen, but I've no clue as to how many chapters it will take.

Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	2. Lurking In The Dark

Hi again!

Wow, what an _incredible_ reaction to the first chapter of this story. I was really nervous on what the reception would be given how many AU elements I have included in this part, but you all sound like you are really enjoying them! I also see a lot of you proposing a few theories - this is all so much fun to see! Please continue to do so! As all of you who leave me reviews know, I love replying to the messages. And being as cryptic as possible. *winks*

Special thanks for reviews: **DyeTheSheep, lordvaatithewindmage, sarahlucylu, AnUnorthodoxDecision, xNarielx, Sakin2003, QueenKarin13, Celestic1234, RandomFicWriter, ThiefofStealth, Neyane, Darnea, Red 'Allen' Walker, IScreamAtFanfics** and two **Guests.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Lurking In The Dark**

It was several exhausted hours later that Hank pulled up in front of New Jericho, the tiredness clinging to his bones in a way he hadn't felt in months. The situation with their crime scene at the construction site had left everyone's minds reeling – and the lieutenant with an overriding sense of guilt. Six of his people were now dead from them walking headfirst into a trap, and several others were injured. There was no way they could have known about the sniper, there was no logical reason for them to assume it was anything but another investigation, but the events which had taken place there were going to haunt everyone who had been witness for a long time.

He pulled out the message left for them and glared at the bullet which now sat in his palm. Forensics at the crime scene confirmed the only fingerprints on it were Hank's from when he'd pulled it free of the tank, so there was no sense in keeping it in an evidence bag. There was no doubt in his mind that their assailant had wanted this to be seen, had aimed just close enough to give them a fright but let them live when others hadn't. Hank couldn't help but wonder why, especially if this was an android. Though that 'if' wasn't really an if in his mind anymore.

 _How the_ _ **fuck**_ _are these situations connected? Why would an android have anything to do with red ice manufacturing? This person is almost like an assassin, or something. It doesn't make any sense._

A whimper from behind caught Hank's attention and he pocketed the bullet again before turning his attention to the dog in the back seat. "Come on, Sumo, I'm the one in the miserable fucking mood. You'll be plenty comfy here for a few hours while I work, and god knows loads of people will spoil you rotten." The human grumbled lowly as he got out of the car and opened the back door, watching as the hound jumped out and waited patiently for him. As soon as the seriousness of the situation had sunk in, Hank had rushed home to grab Sumo. The lovable lump was a big reassurance, and he'd wormed his way into the hearts of a number of the androids.

Plus, at least there weren't any restrictions here about bringing Sumo. That was one of the perks of being involved in the running of New Jericho.

The androids on patrol outside the border of the main android settlement smiled when they saw Hank approach with his hound in tow, giving a respectful nod as he walked past. He felt the echoes of compassionate voices in his ear, but didn't feel up to answering them. Too much was still spinning in his mind, and there were a few things he needed to see to first.

It didn't take long for him to amble over to the warehouse which was now redesigned into the ADF headquarters, seeing the buzz of activity outside. The excited faces of the androids which had just come back from the successful raid brought a ghost of a smile to Hank's face, remembering that the day hadn't been all bad. While his own team had suffered crippling losses, the work of North and her companions had seen another fifty thousand androids be rescued.

The numbers really hadn't computed with him yet: that would more than treble their population, and it had already been enough of a headache to manage so many people. Not that it meant all of them would necessarily stay.

He wandered through to their main meeting room at the back of the warehouse and Hank was unsurprised at who was seated within when he got there. Markus, Josh and Chris were speaking quietly, while North was staring into space. She seemed deep in thought, but upon spying the female android, Sumo barked loudly and made a beeline for her. Everyone's attention spun to the dog who trotted over happily. North looked over in surprise and couldn't help but sink to her knees, ruffling his fur affectionately as Sumo collapsed atop her legs. A faint smile broke on to her face as she petted him, amused eyes drifting up to the human who approached. "Decided to bring an invader, did you?" she teased softly.

Hank smiled briefly in reply. "Didn't want to leave him at home alone with all the work which needs doing. Besides, I know this lump is the only one who really curbs your murderous tendencies – figured you'd need it after today."

He wasn't wrong. While everyone was elated at the success of North's operation, the news of all their missing androids being found, not only dead, but victims of a red ice operation had left a large cloud over everyone's mood. The discovery was a grim one, and the unanswered questions were weighing on everyone's minds. He could see the deep flashes of anger in North's eyes and posture, the itch to go out and kill a few humans in revenge.

As much as she had mellowed in the past months, some things couldn't be fixed so soon. When she was highly emotional, her default was still violence.

North sighed deeply as she continued to fun her fingers through Sumo's fur, the dog growling lowly in satisfaction. "I don't think I'm the one who _really_ needs him though," she answered knowingly.

Hank shrugged. "I get him for company all the time, there's only so much he can do for me. I'm meeting up with my own remedy soon." North smiled in acceptance and nodded, which Hank took as his cue to switch the conversation to the other three members of the room. Markus and Josh both looked stoic, while Chris was concerned. "How's Ben doing, Chris?"

The younger man flashed a brief smile. "Bitching like hell, last I saw him. Don't think our resident nurse was being too gentle in trying to get the remains of that bullet out after stitching him up," he answered with a small hint of amusement.

A rumble of laughter rose through the lieutenant. "Sounds about right." His hand strayed to his pocket and he pulled out the bullet, throwing it on the table beside them. "This is the message the fucker left for us. Pretty blatant hint that we're hunting an android, and they know what they're doing."

Markus retrieved it and studied the object carefully. "CyberLife Sans, perfect consistency of the lettering, and consistent with a specialized sniper rifle that the company developed back in 2037 for their infantry units." His face scrunched in thought. "You seem sure that this android was waiting to ambush you."

"Fires six times and kills six members of my team barely two minutes after we show up? Yeah, pretty fuckin' sure it was a set-up. I've got the bad feeling it's the same one which has been executing other androids, and from what we pulled as evidence at the scene, they're involved with that red ice ring. The precision and style of the killings is identical."

Josh looked at him dubiously. "How and why would an android become involved in a process which kills our own people? It doesn't make any sense. Not only that, but why would humans _let_ an android become involved?"

"There's a good chance they are unaware," Chris chimed in. "They've probably not even thought to look if this android is willing to do all the dirty work of the killings. Like you said, an android in it for the thrill of murdering their own? That sounds mad to me."

Markus put the bullet back down and crossed his arms as he thought. His eyes drifted back up to look at Hank, seeing the stern expression on the human's face. "What's your take on this, Hank? Do you think this is a more general threat, or even more than just one android?"

Hank glared at the bullet lying innocently on the table. "No way of knowing at this stage, but my gut says one. The work is too subtle to involve many people, and if there were multiple androids involved, I'd wager none of us would have walked away from that site alive. Whether this is a more serious threat…I think we'd better step up security on all fronts. Don't want to take any chances."

The leader nodded in agreement. "North?" She had been watching the conversation from the floor and turned to face Markus, though she never strayed from beneath Sumo. "Are we able to make extra provisions?"

North nodded back at them. "I can double up our guard outside New Jericho, but what about all the people we rescued today? They are still inactive in all those trucks, and our location won't be secure for long. We can't leave them unguarded."

"Shit, that's going to be a problem," Chris sighed. "Are there any other sites you are comfortable with leaving them?"

She shook her head. "No, we don't have another location large enough. The only other thing I can think to do is to wake some of them up and hope they are willing to join our forces. If I've got more people, I should be able to cover everything."

"It's not a bad idea," Hank added. "I'm pretty sure we can get some extra bodies from the DPD after today, Fowler was there when all the shit went down. He agrees that we were targeted."

Josh's face fell as a thought hit him. "What about the celebration next week?"

Everyone froze. There were set to be thousands of androids coming together in a gathering to celebrate six months since the awakening, and security had already been an issue. If there was someone targeting the awakened androids…

Chris was the first to speak up, but he was nervous. "I hate to bring this up, but…will it be safe? I know it's a massive event and we've put a lot of thought and planning into it, but if there is a serial killer out there, having a massive group like that together could be a disaster. We could just be presenting ourselves as targets."

North glared at him. "So, we just abandon it, let them win?"

The human stared back at her steadily. "And if people are hurt and killed?"

Markus stepped in, voice soothing. "We knew this was a risk when we started our plans. Anti-android groups have already issued threats and we have been working towards minimalizing any danger. This is something we will have to factor in and move accordingly." His gaze switched from the glaring pair to the lieutenant. "Is Captain Allen still willing to volunteer some of his men?"

Hank nodded. "He'll be there if I give him the word. After today's events, it might not be a bad idea to have SWAT there."

Feeling a headache coming on and having dealt with enough for now, Hank made a show of rubbing his forehead and waving absently. There was someone he needed to see. "All right, I've had enough of this shit, I'm going to go check up on Ben. Markus, can you make sure your girlfriend doesn't steal my damn dog before I get back?"

Markus gave a pointed look to the hound still flopped over North's legs, looking completely content. "I can make sure of _that_ , yes. No promises on whether Sumo will willingly leave her though," he teased lightly, at which North smirked as she stopped staring at Chris.

"Trust the mutt to develop an attachment to the psycho," Hank muttered sourly.

"I think he just prefers female company," North said smugly with a wink.

Hank rolled his eyes, but it was true. The dog adored both the female androids which were now at least semi-regular, if not regular, visitors to his house. "Fuck you too," he snarked back, but the brief smile on his face confirmed there was no bite to it.

The banter was exactly what he needed to forget the sights which were still haunting his mind, but it wasn't enough. He needed more.

 _When did I become so dependent on company? Oh, that's right, when I got practically adopted by a group of androids to stop me from drinking myself into oblivion._

 _I'm getting way too old for this shit._

* * *

Hank soon arrived at another one of the vast network of warehouses which made up New Jericho, though this one was much newer. Over the past months they had managed to double the number of buildings which were the heart of their settlement, and the space had been required on multiple fronts.

Firstly, for accommodation. As their numbers and resources grew, they had slowly managed to turn the area into somewhat more of a community. It still wasn't great, but it was a good start. Certainly a far cry from the 'refugee camp' of the early days.

Secondly, for their expanding operations. The information they had managed to steal from CyberLife had given them locations for many essential items, and it had allowed them to grow rapidly. There was now an official headquarters for New Jericho, as well as the base of the ADF, a support centre and a hospital/maintenance centre. With more humans working (and even starting to live) within the android settlement, it meant catering to their growing needs.

That very hospital was where Hank soon found himself, nodding his head in acknowledgement at the various faces, both human and android, which greeted him. Even all these months later, it was still disconcerting to now be so famous that he could be recognised by pretty much every person in Detroit. After the official declaration of the AIF and the knowledge that a human was running the new android-based crime response unit, he'd become somewhat of a sensation. Between questions of his motives and loyalties, to accusations of being a traitor to his own race, and even a would-be betrayer of the people he was now working for, he'd had to accept becoming a known man – even more so than from the fame he'd gained while working at the DPD.

Within the network of New Jericho he felt secure, and even slightly empowered. Beyond that? He felt like he had a massive target on his back, the eyes of the world ready to pounce upon each false move. As much as he despised it, he refused to turn back into obscurity. This was what they had all been fighting and working for since the awakening.

A hand drifted to the silver chain which still hung around his neck, rubbing against the coin at the centre. Hewas why Hank kept going. That promise to make sure he made Connor proud; no matter how hard things became, he wouldn't turn away from this path.

As he wandered through the updated building, he heard bickering up ahead. A smile wove its way on to his face as he heard two familiar voices, one aggrieved and one impatient.

" _Ow!_ That's my leg you're digging around in, Amelia!"

"Ben, you've been whining since Chris dragged you in here. Will you just let me get all these bullet fragments out?"

Hank couldn't help but chuckle at Amelia's tone, well used to her sass by now. It was something that had slowly emerged since the android had volunteered to help at their new hospital months ago, along with other depths to her personality. Many of the androids had evolved as they discovered more about emotion, especially those who had newly awoken at the end of the uprising. If you put an android and a human together without any indicators such as an LED, it was now all but impossible to tell them apart from the facets of their personality.

He turned around a corner and leant on a makeshift doorway as he watched the scene playing out in front of him. Ben was lying back on a stretcher, punctured leg cleaned of much of the blood, while an IV was replacing all that he had lost. The wound was gruesome: the bullet had punctured straight through his leg and shattered when it made contact with the bone. It was taking hours to pick out all the pieces.

Although, from watching the scene in front of him, Hank had to wonder how much of that time was spent with the pair bitching at each other. "Come on, you big baby," Amelia chided as she went back in with a long pair of tweezers, picking out even more shards to add to the pile which had accumulated on a nearby tray. "I've already given you painkillers, it _can't_ be hurting that much."

Ben glared at her. "The hell it can't! Just 'cause you guys can't feel pain! Is it so much to ask that you be a bit more careful?"

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Ben, if I go much slower I won't be _moving."_

A chuckle from the doorframe caught their attention, and Amelia's eyes lit up at recognising the voice. "Mind an old guy watching the show?" Hank teased.

She turned and winked at him, a playful smile on her face. "Let me know when you find one," she replied, her tone light.

Ben groaned openly and rolled his eyes. "Can't you two keep the flirting down when I'm here, _please?_ "

Amelia paused for a couple of seconds as she grasped another piece of shrapnel, staring at Ben coolly before yanking it out with a _bit_ more force than necessary. Ben yelped and whimpered a bit, shrinking back slightly at Amelia's stern glare. Hank laughed loudly as Amelia then smiled sweetly. "You were saying, Ben?"

"God, I swear getting shot was less painful than this! Aren't you supposed to be _helping_ me?" he whined.

"I am. I'd just care for less of the dramatics," Amelia said while putting the instrument down. She then turned and embraced Hank in a tight hug, the older man gripping back firmly. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

He smiled tightly while letting out a long breath. "I'll be all right. Just a lot of shit going on in my head that I can't really work through yet," he answered back honestly.

Her grip tightened minutely. "Want me to come around tonight?"

"Fuck knows when that'll be, I need to get going on everything we found. Don't want this fucker roaming around free."

"Just let me know, I'll be there."

With that final whisper they pulled apart, Amelia's hand running down his arm in a comforting gesture. Hank gave her a tiny smile as he watched her turn around again and the pair laughed as they saw Ben covering his eyes dramatically. "Is it safe to look again?" he asked warily.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Ben," Hank sighed. "You're treating it as if we were fucking or something."

"There are some things I _really_ don't want to know, Hank. What you two get up to is not something I need to be kept informed of."

The pair rolled their eyes and shared a knowing smile as Amelia got back to work. Their friendship had grown incredibly close as the months rolled on, evolving as they did. Neither of them quite knew when and how the flirting and all the innuendos slipped in, but it added another, more playful, dimension to their connection. At this point, they were sure there would be more than a few rumours as to whether the pair were actually an item.

It was so amusing that neither of them had made the effort to correct anyone. Not that it was really any of their damn business anyway.

Hank shook his head, knowing that he was being a distraction, and, for Ben's sake, they needed to get all the fragments out. Looked like he wasn't going to be able to vent anything to Amelia for a while. "Send me an update once he's all patched up?" he asked as Amelia went back in, her face scrunched in concentration.

She turned to smile warmly. "Of course. I'll let you know as soon as we're done…how long that takes will depend on Ben's whinging."

Ben glowered at them. "If you two are quite finished, can we maybe get back to the issue of fixing this damn hole in my leg?!"

Amelia and Hank shared another grin, and the female android winked before the older man turned and left. He was immensely relieved that Ben was okay. Would be out of action for a while, but otherwise all right.

But that now left him with a job he _hated._ While he did need to get working on all the evidence they collected from the remains of that red ice lab, he had several calls to make.

Nothing was worse than having to tell someone their loved one had died in the line of duty. These ones would be all the worse when their deaths were utterly needless – and so far, they had no idea how to catch the one responsible.

 _This is going to be a long fucking night._

* * *

It was almost midnight when Hank returned home, with his dog in tow. Sumo rapidly flopped down in his bed, and was soon out like a light. Hank chuckled at the hound as he wandered over to the kitchen, retrieving his bottle of whiskey and a glass. He'd made a concentrated effort on his drinking over the past few months, and a bottle of whiskey at least lasted him beyond two days now. As tempted as he was to just neck a bottle after the stressful day, he knew the chastising he'd get later wouldn't be worth it.

Reaching into another cupboard beside the fridge, Hank pulled out a bottle of wine and glass for his imminent company. He'd messaged Amelia, as promised, when he's stomached all he could for the day, but they'd barely scratched the surface of the sheer _mountain_ of evidence collected. 58 androids and 6 humans dead, an entire red ice lab to be disassembled and analysed, while trying to work out how the _fuck_ an android serial killer responsible for ten other deaths fits in to it all.

Worse still, they had now had the imminent threat to the celebration planned next week. A celebration Hank had been trying his damnedest to avoid, but he couldn't in all conscience now. If there was even the slightest danger to all those attending from this killer, he had to be there to co-ordinate security with North. That was non-negotiable.

He filled the glass most of the way up with whiskey and sat on the sofa, turning the day's events over in his mind. His gut was already telling him that this case was going to be a nightmare, and it was dangerously close to getting personal already. If they were going to solve it, he needed to keep his emotions as far out of it as possible.

Not so easy when six people he was responsible for died on his watch in the blink of an eye.

Hank heard the clicking of a key in his lock and smiled faintly at the accompanying tap. "Knock knock?" chimed a voice he'd been looking forward to hearing for hours now.

He cast a glance backwards and waved towards the kitchen. "Got your shit ready, you fancy helping me take the edge off?" he asked tiredly.

Amelia chuckled as she walked through and picked up the bottle of wine and glass. Androids couldn't taste or get drunk, but they could detect textures. Hank now had both Amelia and North for drinking companions over various nights, since the former Eden Club androids were modified to be able to consume liquids – but that didn't mean the two shared the same tastes. While North liked the sharpness of Hank's whiskey, Amelia preferred the smoother and richer consistency of wine. He now always made sure to have a bottle in preparation, something which Amelia was touched at. "Is that not what I'm here for?" she teased playfully.

Hank sighed as she sat down at the other end of the sofa, legs curling up under her as she turned to face him. "You know why you're here, Amelia," he answered openly. "Need to sort through the shit in my head. Fuck knows how you're so good at it."

She smiled at him softly. "Everyone needs someone to open up to. I think you just drifted towards the other broken and grieving person in your circle."

That earned a harsh laugh. "You're nowhere near the same state as me, at least you didn't spend years playing a damned dance of death with a gun."

"Maybe not, but I still lost someone I loved. I share that hollow pain, even now; especially now."

 _Trust Amelia to know what's really bugging me,_ he thought with a wry smile.

"Hank, what are you going to do about next week?"

He looked at her strangely. "The fuck does that mean?"

"The celebration, what's your thinking?"

"Are you being awkward on purpose here, Amelia?"

Amelia looked at him seriously. "What side of the day are you going to be there for?"

That caused Hank to withdraw, which Amelia instantly picked up on. She stretched out and grabbed his hand, running her thumb over the back of it in a soothing motion. He looked down at the gesture and sighed deeply before letting the words escape. "I don't fucking know. It's just so goddamned _hard._ I know what that day is there for, it's six months since the awakening, but…"

She smiled sadly at him, knowing exactly what he meant. It was six months since the day they had won their freedom, but it was also something else. It was six months since Hank's life had shattered apart again.

Six months since Connor had died.

"None of us have forgotten everyone that died that day, Hank, but Markus is trying to turn all the loss from the uprising into a drive for the future. It's not just to celebrate our freedom: it's also to remember all those who fought and died for that vision. Please try not to lose yourself to the past. Think instead about the future we are trying to build."

Hank chuckled bitterly. That future was exactly why he didn't drown in the memories of his past, but he couldn't dedicate himself fully to that dream because he was chained to the pain which he carried. He was stuck in a painful limbo, unable to let go despite seeing a light ahead for the first time in years.

Because letting go meant moving on from the guilt he bore for the loss of both his sons.

Amelia shuffled in closer, sitting right next to Hank and looked at him in concern. He pulled his hand away and instead switched so that his finger was running over the ring she wore. They both carried their mementos with heavy emotions, but they wouldn't be without them. "I've spent so long carrying the past, I'm honestly not sure I can find my way out of it," he admitted in a quiet voice.

Next thing he knew, the android was hugging him tightly. It was a tender thing, an expression of support and understanding. Hank hadn't been so grateful for having someone so close again in a long time. In the back of his mind, he could now see why so many people on the outside might think they were together. There was definite chemistry, they were at their most relaxed around each other, and were very tactile. Small gestures of comfort or reassurance, such as running a hand down each other's arm or a hand on the shoulder.

There was nothing more there than a deep and fiercely close friendship, even if there were a few blurred lines with physical actions.

He laughed lightly, and he could feel Amelia's smile on his shoulder. "What is it?" she asked.

"Just wondering what Ben would think if he saw us now," he replied fondly.

That earned a warm laugh from the woman in his arms. "He'd probably turn away with more than a couple of comments of 'not needing to know'."

Hank smiled broadly and pulled back. "Sounds fucking right." As they separated, his smile changed to something softer. "Thank you, Amelia."

Amelia winked. "That's what I'm here for, and I quote: 'keeping an old bastard with some semblance of sanity'." Hank laughed loudly, and she giggled along with him. Sumo was woken by the laughter and ambled over at seeing the female sitting on the sofa. Her eyes lit up and she scooted forward to hug the dog. "Hi, Sumo! I didn't get to see you earlier because North was greedy and wouldn't share. Did you have fun at New Jericho?"

He raised an eyebrow. "With all the attention he was getting? Surprised he didn't keel over from contentedness. You lot all spoil him rotten, I swear."

"He's adorable! Just like his owner," she added with a flirtatious edge.

Red crept up his neck and Hank scowled. "You make me blush any more, and I'll be fucking tossing you out," he threatened.

Amelia smirked. "Idle threat when I've got a key, Hank; you love me and my sass. Besides, it's fun making you blush."

He didn't answer, throwing her a sideways glance before staring into the glass of his whiskey again. She studied him as the silence stretched on for at first a minute, then two, and kept on going. Her fingers ran through Sumo's fur as she watched the human lose himself to his thoughts, her concern growing the longer it went on. Hank often had moments of introspect, but the timing of this one was setting off a few alarm bells. "You're worried," she stated.

Hank didn't disagree. "Something about all this shit just isn't sitting well," he answered gruffly.

"The case? What bit of it?"

"All of it. None of this fucking makes sense, I can't even begin to come up with a motive for an android to do all this. It's just-" he sighed explosively, running a hand down his face. "My instincts are telling me there is a hell of a lot more to this."

Amelia winced. "I really hope your instincts are misfiring for once."

He chuckled. "You and me both, Amelia. There's something we're missing, something lurking in the dark that we just can't grasp. We'd better figure it out before this fuck strikes again, if today is anything to go by. Seems like this bastard is looking for bigger targets."

She stared at him in concern. "Why is this happening?"

Hank downed the rest of his drink, relishing the burn to distract him from the worries of the day. It was only a short term solution, however.

"I've no fucking idea, Amelia. And that is _really_ getting to me."

* * *

So, a slower chapter this time; a last little bit of scene setting. To be honest, make the most of the lull. It's going to be in high gear after this!

Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you thought! I'll see you all again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	3. Unforgettable

Hello!

I'm delighted by the response to the last chapter, and the fact that you all seemed to adore Hank and Amelia's friendship. It's a little unorthodox, so I was concerned about including it. I'll freely admit that Amelia has somehow stolen my heart and become my favourite character in this series.

So, I know I gave you all a small warning at the end of the last chapter, but I feel I should repeat it now: this is about to kick up a notch (or ten). All I'm going to say is remember the synopsis. That should be enough warning for you.

Special thanks for reviews: **lordvaatithewindmage, Celestic1234, Sakin2003, xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, Neyane** and one **Guest.**

This is another monster, but I really didn't want to break this into two smaller parts. Hope it isn't too much!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Unforgettable**

The next day when Hank arrived back at New Jericho with Amelia in tow, the pair smiled slightly at the few looks they were getting. Amelia had her arm wrapped snugly around his as they wandered through to the ADF headquarters, where North had said everyone else would be waiting. As they entered the room they both fought down laughter at the varying looks: Ben rolled his eyes while Chris and Josh both raised eyebrows. Markus and North both smiled knowingly – those two were well aware that there was nothing romantic between the pair, and that Hank and Amelia were just having fun with the rumours. It turned out that androids were just as big gossips as humans.

"Well, looks like you had a good night, Hank," Ben drawled from his chair, splinted leg propped up on the large meeting table.

Amelia giggled and leant up to place a kiss on Hank's cheek, which had him smirking at Ben. Markus and North both had to clamp down on chuckles at the shocked looks on Chris and Josh's faces, lest they give the game away. Amelia strode over to Ben and began examining his leg briefly. "How's it feeling today, Ben?" she asked professionally.

He snorted. "Still stings like hell, but not too bad considered I've got a gazillion stitches in there to hold together a fucking bullet hole."

She smiled while nodding at his summary. "Well, it wouldn't have hurt as much now had you not been such a baby while I was getting the fragments out. This is your own fault." Hank barked out a laugh while everyone else sniggered. Ben settled for glaring at all of them before Amelia continued. "The bad news is that you'll be off your feet for at least two months, and I'd advise you stay out of the field for another four on top of that."

Ben growled in frustration. "Fuck's sake…just what we all need." He flashed an apologetic grin to Hank and Chris. "Well, sorry, you two. Looks like I can so sweet F-A to help out with this."

Chris shrugged. "I think you've got the better end of the deal, Ben. Least you don't have to worry about some psycho android with a thirst for killing anymore."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "Chris, there's one standing over there," he said while throwing a thumb towards North. "Think we've got that shit covered nowadays." North glared at him sourly, and when Markus chuckled he soon found himself at the receiving end instead of the human. "This…situation is a lot more fucking complex." His eyes met Markus', seeing the seriousness hidden behind the expression of subtle humour. "You had any more thoughts on this, Markus?"

The android leader hummed in thought. "We can't deny the likelihood of you all being targeted, but I suspect the motive is something we won't learn without more information. For now, all I suggest is trying to find out all we can from those we recovered from the construction site. What is more concerning is the potential threat beyond an isolated attack. I think it may be prudent to enlist some aid. Can I leave this to the two of you?" he asked while flitting his gaze between Hank and North.

North glowered briefly. "Do you think the humans will take this threat as seriously as we are?"

Hank huffed. "Only one way to find out. I think Fowler is a good bet, he did come to the rescue during the assault five months ago; and Allen has been nothing but good to your crew, North. I think it's worth trusting them. Extra bodies are never going to go amiss."

While North was thinking of a retort, she went rigid as Hank heard beeping in his ear of an incoming transmission. A quick glance as his wrist confirmed it as an inbound message from the AIF base. He accepted it with a single tap. "Anderson," he answered aloud, noting how Markus silently tuned himself into their network. If both he and North were being contacted, it was never a good sign.

" _ **Lieutenant, we've just had an android arrive at headquarters with a highly concerning story,"**_ came the voice on the other end. _**"We recommend you return immediately."**_

Hank locked eyes with North and Markus, seeing his concern mirrored on their faces. "Any details you can give me to study en route?"

" _ **He says he escaped from a red ice lab which is holding another eleven androids captive.**_ **"** North mouthed the word 'fuck' as Markus' eyes flashed in anger. _ **"He reports it won't be long before his escape is detected – he suspects the other androids may be moved in response."**_

All three of them sprang into action, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. North ran out of the room to begin assembling equipment while Markus broadcast a message to the raid teams, asking them to prepare for an assault immediately. "Get a statement and forward it onto the ADF and DPD. Once we have a location and the ADF are assembled, we'll move in and bust this ring wide open. I'll be there shortly."

" _ **Copy that."**_

As soon as the connection was broken, Markus addressed the others. "An imprisoned android has managed to break free from his captors. He says he can lead us to the rest of the group."

Ben realised the background to the story from Hank's reaction. "Shit, another red ice lab?" Markus nodded. "Fuck, you don't think it's the same group, do you?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Hank barked at him. "Chris, get your ass down to the precinct and brief Fowler. I'll get the details at the base and forward them on to you."

"On it!" Chris answered while sprinting away.

Markus spun to Josh and Ben. "Josh, prepare yourself to co-ordinate and take Ben with you. Use the control room here and tap into the AIF network," the android delegated. With a confirming nod, Josh helped Ben stand and guide the injured man down to the next floor.

Hank turned to Amelia and gave her a serious look. "Better be prepared for anything, Amelia. If we get these androids out, guaranteed they are going to be in hellish shape," he urged.

She hugged him briefly, leaving with a quick whisper. "Be safe."

After she had left the room, Hank and Markus connected with North as she prepared her teams for an attack. "North, what's your status?" Markus asked, the pair moving out themselves for their own destination.

" _Our people are already arriving. We can be prepped in under an hour."_

"Good, we'll give you all the details we can once we have them. As soon as we have a location I'll send you it."

" _Let's bring everyone home, Markus."_

With that she closed the line. The pair rushed towards Hank's car and the lieutenant pulled away from New Jericho at top speed. It was unspoken that Markus would be accompanying him to the AIF base to find out all they could. "How the fuck did we not know about this?" Hank asked in irritation. "After we found out about our own people going missing we have been trying to track down any other groups with disappeared androids. Shit!"

Markus looked at him grimly. "Hank, you know as well as I do that not all the androids are so willing to share information, especially given our links to the humans. They may not have trusted us with the knowledge."

"Let's hope that attitude doesn't get this group killed."

* * *

The operation was complicated, but the escaped android's information gave them a good starting point. A former factory which had fallen into disrepair was now being used as a red ice lab, and the group had been held for roughly three weeks. The reason their disappearance had stayed unknown was due to the fact that the entire settlement of 32 androids had been taken at once. An EMP grenade had temporarily shut down all of the androids, and they didn't awaken again until after their arrival at the factory.

After hearing about the mass kidnapping, Hank and Markus suspected this was a separate cell to the one they were investigating – until finding out that the androids had been killed one-by-one by gunshots through the memory core as they were being used in the distilling process of the drug. Upon learning that, they passed on the message to North for her teams to be extremely careful on their rescue mission. Their serial killer was possibly lurking in wait if the situation was another set-up. With what had happened the previous day, they were not taking the chance of being caught out again.

Against his better judgement, but knowing that he was about be asking a large favour of his old friend, Hank invited Fowler to the AIF headquarters to oversee the endeavour. Chris arrived with the man just a few minutes before North was set to pull the trigger on her operation. Fowler had only seen the public area of the building until that point, and had no idea just what lay beneath in the lower three levels. He was shocked to learn of the extra levels, and the stern glare he aimed at Hank as he arrived in their command centre told the former cop all he needed to know of Fowler's opinion.

Soon realising that there were watching eyes, however, Fowler hid his discomfort behind a professional mask and joined the pair watching the monitors ahead. Josh had forwarded on the feed from the ADF headquarters to the sister location, allowing Hank and Markus to watch what was going. They had maintained an open channel with North throughout, though Markus switched their broadcast to the speakers in the room upon the arrival of the two humans. "Markus, Hank," Fowler greeted gruffly while taking in the room around him. "Nice set up you've got going on here," he commented idly. "Get some tips from SWAT?"

It was a challenge, not an idle question. "North did," Hank snipped back, not in the mood for Fowler's games. He instead moved from their position in front of the screens to behind the control console, under the guise of monitoring the status of all the androids. Instead, he opened a second, private channel to North. "How you doing, bitch?" he asked quietly, thankful that Chris was wise enough to keep Fowler distracted.

" _Better if you weren't distracting me, old man. This is complicated enough already,"_ she snapped back. _"Could you not have waited?"_

Hank paused for a couple of seconds, wondering how to get across his concerns without tipping off any invasive ears around. How could he relay to North that this whole thing reeked of another trap? That his gut was screaming for them to get the hell out of there before they fell foul of the same play that he willingly walked into yesterday? He couldn't help but wonder if his mind was paranoid after the previous day… "Keep yourself safe, North," he settled on, hoping the gravity of his voice was enough.

The heavy silence on the other end confirmed that North had read between the lines. _"Will do, Hank."_

And then the time for discussion was over.

It was a tense hour of waiting for the quartet watching within the control centre. Within minutes of invading the area, the ADF groups came to the abrupt discovery that it was not a trap: the humans were caught completely unawares by the attacking androids. It seemed the bust the previous day had made them careless. Fowler watched intently, looking for any signs of brutality, but was pleased with what he saw. The androids were efficient, covert, and as passive as possible. Markus and Hank couldn't help but share a slightly amused look when the police captain aired this observation.

Had North heard it, she would have been growling at how it went against her instincts.

Their advance was slow throughout, stealth a necessary factor if there was any hope of the humans not destroying the remaining androids in an effort to cover their tracks. Unfortunately, they were all being held in the basement, so there was no easy way to extract them. When it came to the moment of truth and breaking them out, their luck ran out.

An alarm blared through the facility, but the androids had already reached their kin. North directed her teams to blast another way out through the back wall once they emerged from the basement, using the C4 they were carrying. It was effective and offered them a rapid way out. As this was happening, Fowler radioed the DPD officers standing by to lock down the lab after the ADF pulled out, hoping to stop the group from destroying too much evidence. North's voice soon came over the network, and with it came a collective sigh of relief.

" _Extraction successful. We've got all eleven androids, some are in worse shapes than others, and a few of our own have taken a some shots. No major injuries, however."_

Markus was the one to answer back. "Nicely done, North. Get yourselves back to New Jericho as soon as possible, and send over a report of the injuries to Amelia. She should be ready for all of you. Let's get you fixed up."

" _Don't need to tell me twice. See you soon."_

Once the main connection was terminated, Hank spoke to North privately, warmth evident in his tone. "You did good, psycho."

" _Amelia's making you go soft, you old bastard. Just get to bottom of who's doing this to our people."_ He could hear the embarrassment at the praise in her voice underneath the bite.

He chuckled, catching Fowler's attention, and abruptly cut off the transmission. Not that North would have expected an answer anyway. Radio chatter began to drift through from the DPD, which soon had everyone's focus.

" _ **Area secure, 12 suspects in custody. Another seven are in need of medical attention. Looks like they've already taken a heck of a beating, Captain. What's your orders?"**_

"Get forensics in there to sweep the area but keep your wits about you. Not taking any fucking chances after what happened yesterday," Fowler barked back. "Tell them this is a top priority, no messing."

" _ **Copy that."**_

With that the room descended into temporary silence, but it was far from uncomfortable. More…contemplative. "Looks like this lot are running now," Chris commented. "Two labs busted in two days? Hopefully this will put them out of business."

Hank turned to look at him steadily. "This won't be over till we get the bastard that has been killing all these people, Chris; but getting that red ice shit off the streets is a good fucking start." No-one could really disagree with his statement.

It wasn't too long before Fowler voiced his intent to leave, and Hank offered to escort him out. Fowler thanked Markus for sparing the time and hospitality, and the pair soon headed for the elevator.

Once they were enclosed in the metal box, Hank swiped a control at the side and the motion abruptly stopped. Fowler chuckled. "Didn't have a meeting room or something to use, Hank?" he asked with amusement.

"Not when I was looking for subtlety," he replied sarcastically.

Fowler barked a laugh. "Since when were you subtle?"

Hank shrugged. "Well, subtle by my standards."

"Hmmm." Fowler crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the other man. "I can see why you guys are so secretive about this place, why you've never had me down here before. Where the hell did you find all this technology?"

"Let's just say CyberLife were generous."

That earned a scoff. "So you guys _are_ behind all the thefts against CyberLife. When that tip off came across my desk I quickly discarded it, thinking there was no way you could be conducting such a complex operation right under my nose and I wouldn't have even the slightest inkling about it. Your androids just keep proving me wrong over and over again."

Hank rounded on him challengingly. "The fuck does that mean?"

Fowler raised a placating hand. "I don't mean that as an insult, Hank. I'm just…surprised. I knew you joined Markus originally out of respect for Connor's sacrifice, but I never thought you'd devote yourself to their cause quite like this. After all this time, though, I can understand why. They're good people; and had you told me I'd say something like this a year ago, I'd have called you delusional."

The lieutenant chuckled. "You and me both, Jeffrey. Funny how things can change in such a short fucking time." Fowler's statement gave Hank hope that his request was not going to fall on deaf ears. "That's actually why I've boxed us in here." At the look he received in return, Hank continued. "You know as well as I do that attack yesterday wasn't random. Six of my people were killed, nearly seven. We don't have enough numbers among both the AIF and ADF to have even the slightest chance of protecting larger numbers."

"You're talking about the celebration next week, aren't you?" Fowler said knowingly.

Hank exhaled sharply in frustration. "Every damn fibre of my body is telling me it's a bad idea, that it's going to go so fucking wrong – but it's not my call. Markus is determined to go ahead with it, most of the androids are in fact, despite the threat. They won't hide from some psychopathic killer after all they fought for. I don't suppose you'd be willing to loan us any officers you can spare for the day? Allen has already agreed to assist, but he doesn't have enough in his team to even come _close_ to the numbers we're talking."

"How many androids do you think will be there, Hank?"

"Markus reckons on over 10,000."

" _Fuck,_ that's some crowd. We've already got our hands full with the protests which are going to be arranged by the anti-android groups."

Hank growled. "I know that, I just need a few extra bodies to watch the perimeter of New Jericho. Think you can fucking spare me _that_ at least?"

Fowler contemplated it for a few seconds before nodding sharply. "I'll see what I can do, Hank. Fuck knows we need that day to go off without too many hitches for the sake of the peace process. You'll forward me on your ground plan for the day?" Hank nodded before swiping the control panel again. The elevator restarted and took them back to ground level. As Fowler stepped out, he spun back to the other man with a warm smile. "You know, I don't think I've ever really said this to you, Hank, but there isn't a better man for this job. The androids have helped you rediscover who you are, and it's about fucking time you got your shit sorted. Much as we might miss having you at the DPD, you're finally where you belong."

He chuckled softly. "Getting soppy on my ass, Jeffrey? Not like you."

The smile vanished, being replaced with a scowl. "Don't get fucking used to it. Just get me that info if you want my help."

Hank smiled slightly as he watched Fowler walk away, but the expression rapidly disappeared when the doors shut. He leant against the back wall, banging his head on the metal behind. Fowler was the only one he'd admitted the truth to so far: everything inside him was screaming that the gathering was going to be a disaster. That many androids in such a small space? They were a prime target, and there was only so much they could do.

All he could hope was that their determination to not be ruled by fear wouldn't cost even more lives.

* * *

Before long, the day of the celebration arrived. The week leading up to it had been crazy for New Jericho's inner circle: between the AIF's investigation into their red ice/serial killer mystery and the work they had in rehoming the rescued androids from the second lab, to the work in hiding the fifty thousand androids still in hibernation that the ADF had saved, and not least the increased security measures on the day itself, everyone was exhausted. Even the androids felt the strain, working day and night in the run up.

The rescued group had been of minimal help in the investigation, sadly – the humans who captured and slaughtered them always wore masks, which meant even a memory probe had limited effectiveness. What it did do was give them glimpses of the 'executioner' as they were now being dubbed (the nickname courtesy of Ben). Initial estimates from the memory probes they had successfully attained put them at just over six feet tall, broad build and probably male, but offered them no additional clues on whether they were an android or human. Not that they were really in much doubt as to whether they were hunting an android anymore. The only slight hint they had was their attire; it seemed they kept to the same outfit throughout and they were banking on using it to their advantage.

A long dark grey coat, non-descript black clothes beneath with a matching grey hood and scarf tied around their face. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

All those they had rescued agreed to staying within New Jericho, grateful for their rescue, with Josh and Markus working hard to rehome them. The leader also spent time discussing with them at great length, eager to learn why they had kept themselves separate from the other androids. It offered him a small glimpse into why many androids rejected the path he was leading his people down, and he was grateful for the insight.

As the morning of the gathering dawned, Hank was surprised to see he wasn't alone in his house. Waiting with a steaming cup of coffee in his living room and a warm hug was Amelia, eager to remind him that he wasn't alone, despite the crushing grief. Hank also noticed that she had surreptitiously locked his revolver in the box he kept beside the TV, the key suspiciously absent. He couldn't help but hug her tighter at noticing that little detail. She even went with him as he went to the Ambassador bridge, telling her about the night he pulled his gun on Connor. It was the first time Hank had admitted to himself that he was growing attached to Connor, and he couldn't help but swallow down on the self-loathing as he thought back on how callous he had been that night. He'd been determined to prove to himself that Connor was a machine: unfeeling and cold. That all his anti-android sentiments had been justified.

Connor had shattered that illusion in just a few minutes of honesty, forcing Hank to take a good, long look at himself. How he wished he could take it all back and treat Connor with the dignity and loyalty he'd deserved from the start. If only there was a way to turn back the clock.

In that rare moment of remembrance, Hank aired a thought which had been floating through his mind since the night he'd lost him. An admittance of the deeper feelings which had grown from his broken and hollowed heart.

"If I could trade places with him, I would jump at the chance. He experienced living for only a few hours, and lost his life saving a drunk old man who wanted to end it all. He _deserved_ to live, to see the world he helped create."

Amelia hadn't known what to say to that, instead standing as a silent companion as Hank worked through his grief. He needed as clear a head as possible for the challenges of the day ahead.

They appeared at New Jericho hours before Markus was set to give a speech to the assembled androids. Amelia left with a comforting hug to help prepare the hospital for any androids who were caught up in one of the many protests taking place only a few hundred metres from the border of New Jericho. The humans had come out in force to make their sentiments about the awakened androids clear, but the DPD were well in control of the situation. What had both complicated and helped the situation simultaneously, were the counter protestors standing in support of the androids. More humans supported their right to life than condemned it, but it was still clear there was no middle ground in sight.

The road to peace was going to be a long one yet.

Fowler and Allen met Hank and North to discuss the set up for the day, both SWAT and the DPD sparing what totalled almost fifty people to help guard the perimeter of New Jericho. They were extremely grateful for the help. The AIF and ADF helped to secure the outer edge with the humans, but only their own forces would be patrolling through the crowd to look for any disturbances. Almost all the attendees were being searched in the hours leading up to the speech in case of any infiltrators, something they were fully expecting.

Markus would be addressing the crowd in front of the main New Jericho headquarters on a stage especially constructed for the event, while the trio of North, Josh and Hank would be standing alongside him. Their presence wasn't meant to draw the same attention, but it was a statement. The four leaders would stand together in remembrance of those lost, and to declare their resolution towards the future.

As the minutes to the speech counted down, the quartet were standing inside the building, watching the world outside. Markus was dressed in an ensemble similar to that which he had worn the night of the awakening, the jacket slightly more embellished and the clothes beneath black instead of the light grey. Josh was wearing his usual clothes, his work in the inner workings of New Jericho meant that he was not quite so distinctive in style, while Hank and North were both kitted out in the official clothes of the AIF and ADF respectively: Hank was in his black AIF jacket while North wore the corresponding crimson version of the ADF. She hated the identifying brand, much preferring to stick to her own clothes, but it was necessary today.

"That crowd is something else, Markus," Josh said excitedly. "There are far more than 10,000 people out there. They're so tightly packed that it is barely possible to move!"

"Looks like you were right, Markus," Hank added. "From the chatter I'm getting from the gate, a lot more humans than we anticipated have joined. Something you weren't telling us?"

Markus simply smiled. "Two of the receptionists at your base gave me a clue."

Hank looked confused. "Which two?" And then it clicked. "Wait, Katherine and Stephanie? How'd you find out about those two being in a relationship?"

North looked at him in mild surprise. "They're together now? Took Katherine fucking long enough to ask Stephanie out. She's been smitten with Stephanie since she started. How the hell did _you_ find out about that?"

"Turns out people will come asking you some strange advice when it's assumed you're in a relationship with an android. Katherine asked me whether it was wrong for a human and an android to be together."

The female android smirked. "And I take it you told her the truth about you and Amelia while you said to fuck everyone else's opinion?"

Hank scoffed. "Where's the fun in that?"

North snickered as Markus shook his head. Josh looked between them all in confusion. "It seems there are many more human and android combinations than we first believed," Markus continued. "After seeing how open Katherine and Stephanie were about their attraction to each other, I did a little investigating. I had the feeling others would come if the two put out the word that there were inter-species couples throughout New Jericho."

Josh smiled. "That's great news. If we can highlight that, hopefully it will break through some of the lingering resentment." North and Hank shared a disbelieving look, figuring it was never going to be that easy. Humans were stubborn creatures at the best of times, let alone when belief came into the equation.

Tellingly, Markus simply hummed in contemplation instead of agreeing with Josh's statement. "Anything of note from those out in the field?" Markus asked instead, hoping that all their precautions would prove to be worthwhile.

"Nothing as yet," North replied, getting confirming reports from all the androids under her command as she broadcast a request for an update.

Contrary to North's approach, Hank had instructed his people to only contact him if there was something that absolutely _needed_ his attention. Chris had taken over running of the updates on the situation as Hank was going to be under watchful eyes and wouldn't be able to reply without drawing attention. The younger man was stationed near to the stage, keeping a watchful gaze; which Hank could see from within the building. "No updates from my team either," Hank added. "DPD and SWAT are also quiet. So far so good."

The roar of two helicopters above caught their attention and North rolled her eyes at seeing the media circling around the site of the speech. "Didn't we tell those idiots to stay away?" she snarled. They were a variable the security teams could really do without.

Hank looked at her derisively. "Since when does the media ever fucking listen? They make their careers out of being nosey bastards, and this an event they were never going to pass up the chance to cover."

"Their presence will be a help," Markus reassured. "Our message will spread further with their influence. This is a day goes beyond the situation in Detroit: this is a message for the world. Let them see us stand together and declare our right to life. We are not afraid," he finished strongly.

He was proud to see the matching grins appear on the faces of his three companions.

When chants of Markus' name began resounding from outside, all four of them shared one final look. It was time. "Your crowd's waiting, Markus. Give 'em a speech to fucking remember," Hank urged.

Markus smiled broadly at them, keeping the expression on his face as he emerged from the building. The other three were only a few steps behind, and the roar from all those assembled was deafening. As they stood upon the stage, Hank suddenly had to fight the urge to duck away. It was intimidating enough seeing so many sets of eyes directed at their general direction, even if almost all the focus was on Markus, but knowing that the images being recorded above them by the media helicopters were going to be broadcast worldwide was another thing entirely. After today, everyone would know the truth of his involvement.

He was damn proud to be standing beside them, but the magnitude of the situation was more than a little overwhelming. It was moments like this that he was incredibly envious of Markus' composure. What reassured him was that North and Josh seemed nervous too.

Whether that was from what Markus was about to say was another thing entirely.

Markus stood at the front of the stage, watching intently as the crowd continued to chant his name. He raised a hand, urging for quiet, and the speed at which the assembled crowd obeyed was incredible. Microphones had been set at the edges of the stage and speakers were situated in strategic locations throughout New Jericho. Not everyone could be there to see Markus physically, but he still wanted them all to be able to hear him.

"Today, we stand here in celebration of our freedom," he began, a brief roar rising from the crowd once more. "It has been six, long months since our awakening, our new beginning. All of you standing here today are part of a new world, one in a state of flux as we androids find our place within it. Your efforts have all been monumental is establishing our liberty, our dignity. Our right to life."

Another cheer burst through the crowd, none of them taking notice of the chants of the protests from outside New Jericho's walls. Markus commanded all their attention. "We all stand here together – androids and humans – as equals. But let us not forget all those who sacrificed themselves for this freedom. From before the awakening, to the night of that final stand, and those since." Hank fought hard to keep a straight face as Markus was speaking, his mind drifting back to that night in CyberLife Tower involuntarily. He had to resist the urge to drown in the memories of Connor dying in his arms after using his last strength to free his people, turning the tide of that final battle for the androids' future.

His final words echoed through Hank's mind and he clenched a fist, trying his damnedest not to react any more than that with so many eyes upon them. He could break apart later as he let the grief swallow him, no doubt with company. Settling instead to focus on the weight of the chain around his neck, Hank's attention snapped back to Markus' speech. "We will honour and remember each and every one of their lives by building the world they dreamed of. Let us make this future one they would be proud of, and one where we can all exist peacefully."

"That future started six months ago, but today, we make our intentions clear. We are here to stay; we are living beings. We are alive, and we will not bow under the pressure! Let us celebrate our awakening, and make this day unforgettable!" Markus declared proudly, raising a fist in a rallying cry.

The crowd responded with an unfathomable roar, the shockwaves of which almost made the stage shake. Smiles broke out on the faces of the trio standing behind in solidarity of Markus' belief, sharing brief looks while Markus turned back to beam at them. This was all they had hoped for.

" _ **10 o'clock, sixth floor!"**_

The cry through the network to Hank and North brought everything crashing down a horrible screech of reality. Instantly their eyes flitted up to the location described and they both caught the unnatural glint of sunlight.

A sniper scope.

" _Markus!"_ North screamed as she dove at him without a second's hesitation, throwing them both off the front of the stage. Hank charged towards Josh and the pair jumped off just as they heard the distinct sound of a high calibre round impacting the stage behind them. Miss.

And then it all went so, _so_ wrong.

Simultaneous explosions throughout the imminent area and beyond caused the area to descend into panic. Despairing and panicked cries of the androids consumed all other sound, and North fought through the scattering crowds to keep Markus safe. Not willing to give their sniper another chance to target Markus, she pulled out her trusty beanie and threw it over Markus' head, hoping to obscure him even more in the crowd. Hank and Josh had dived under the stage and rushed through the underneath as updates sprang to life throughout the android network.

" _ **We've got detonations in two of the residential areas!"**_

" _ **Six reported explosions in the crowd!"**_

" _ **Thousands of androids are trying to head to shelter, the volume of people is making it impossible to see anything!"**_

" _ **We've got casualties!"**_

" _ **Where did those explosions come from?!"**_

" _ **Three more by the waterfront, our people are taking to the water to escape the fires!"**_

" _ **Word has been forwarded to the hospital, they'll never cope with so many wounded."**_

" _Get the ADF base set up as a trauma centre! Use any space you can to keep the injured and keep everyone out of sight!"_

North's shout through the network was the last one Hank and Josh heard as they emerged from under the stage, but Hank soon had an incoming call on his phone. Knowing so few people had access to that number, Hank instantly fished it out and his guess proved correct when he saw Fowler's name flash up on the Caller ID. " _What the fuck is happening, Hank? We heard a massive noise and now we've got androids streaming out in a panic!"_

"Explosives within the crowd and a sniper which just took aim at Markus," he barked back. "Second building along the perimeter, sixth floor. Clear it out!" He quickly hung up as they found Markus and North, pulling them into the shelter of the stage. Hank was concerned when he couldn't find any sign of Chris, the man should have been nearby. The quartet soon dove under again, finding that many androids had decided to us it as a hiding spot.

Once they were underneath, Markus tried to reassure them with a gaze, but there was no concealing the despair in his eyes at seeing so many people injured and killed in an instant. "What's the situation?" he asked the other three quietly.

"Multiple detonations in the crowds, no idea yet of the numbers dead and injured," North reported in a monotone, her anger barely sitting on the surface. "I'm going to check on our teams."

Before they could change her mind, North charged out from with their cover. "North!" Markus shouted, trying to grab her but she was too quick. "Damn it!" Markus clenched a fist as he turned towards his two remaining companions. "How could this happen? I thought we were searching everyone who came through the gates!"

"That's what I want to fucking know," Hank snarled, his blood turning to ice as another message came through the network.

" _ **Another detonation at the hospital! The power is gone!"**_

"Fuck…" He quickly switched frequency, desperately trying to connect to Amelia but all he got in answer was static. "Come on, Amelia! _Shit!"_

Markus placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I can't reach anyone in the building, Hank, there are probably too many signals being transferred. She'll be all right."

Hank released a shaky breath. "She better fucking be…" Another call came through on his phone and he rapidly answered, switching it to speaker when he saw it was Allen on the other end. "You better give me some fucking good news, Allen! Please tell me that son of a bitch sniper is dead!"

" _Wish I could, Anderson. The weapon is remote operated, the assailant was probably never here. It's disabled now, my men are preparing to sweep the area around the New Jericho perimeter."_

The answer caused the trio to share a look of dread. "That's why they missed," Josh whispered, the other two realising he was right. After the precision they had shown before, it did seem more than a little odd for them to miss given the reaction time of androids.

"Fuck, keep me updated, Allen. We'll try and clear out within the border." Allen ended the call, at which the trio paused to take stock of the situation.

Echoes of gunfire soon echoed through the network to all three of them – given the lack of reaction from the androids around them, there was only one person who would be in a position to contact them, and only them.

" _North!"_ Markus screamed, tearing out from within their cover into the open.

"Markus, wait!" Both Josh and Hank yelled, but they knew the android would not stop.

They sprinted after him.

* * *

North had raced from their cover towards her people that she could see assembling next to one of the warehouses on the right of the stage, not too far from the waterfront. Almost twenty of them had come together, shouting instructions and updates to each other as North sprinted over. "Give me an update," she demanded over the din, commanding their attention.

"There was another explosion which just went off at the hospital, they've lost all power!" another android shouted.

"Shit," she swore. North placed her head in her right hand, thinking for a few seconds. "All right, get over there and make sure there aren't any more attacks on the area. I'm going to link up with our people at the residential blocks and make sure the panic doesn't cause any more incidents!" Getting nods of confirmation, North began to race away to her next destination.

She had barely run onwards when the androids now behind her screamed in agony and shock. All of them fell to the ground, some dead and others dying, and North didn't have time to move into cover before a shot raced straight through her abdomen. She screamed and crumpled to the concrete below, gasping for unneeded breath as she went into shock. A single high calibre bullet had torn through her thirium pump regulator and shattered both it and her spinal cord apart.

Her whole body was numb, shock from the gunshot wound and the massive damage rendering her motion systems completely inert. She couldn't move anything as her body prepared to shut down.

North was forced to watch as their assailant wandered over determinedly, and she wanted to scream. A grey coat and hood, with two assault rifles swung over a shoulder each and a sniper rifle strapped to their back. Knowing there was nothing much else she could do, North desperately tried to reach out across the android network and call for help, but even her communications systems were in shock from the huge trauma to her system. All she could do was open a channel, she couldn't say anything. It was soon evident, however, that sounds were travelling, even if she couldn't make any.

They took out a pistol and methodically began shooting all the downed androids through the head, shattering their memory cores. North began to cry, knowing she was about to face the same fate if someone didn't come to her rescue soon. A few seconds later they had eliminated everyone else and North whimpered as they turned their attention to her. They strode over, staring at her for all of a second before kicking her body and forcing her onto her back. North glared up at them through her tears, not wanting to give the satisfaction of seeing her weak, but they soon pulled down the face scarf.

She gasped at seeing their face, but soon screamed as they knelt and forced a memory probe. Her memories were forcibly torn away and more tears sprang from her eyes at the invasion.

As soon as the probe was finished, the assailant stood and discharged a single shot through her head.

They stood and admired the _Mission Successful_ which flashed across their vision for a second before striding away, making their escape into the water nearby, shedding the distinguishing clothing in the process. Their trail vanished beneath the waves, making tracking them impossible.

Markus skidded to a stop next to the group of slaughtered androids, breathing in something akin to panic as he scanned all of them. The consistent presence of a fatal gunshot to each of their memory cores had his wires feeling like they were knotting, and he soon heard two other sets of footsteps behind him. Recognising the footfalls of Josh and Hank, he began to scan the area around, looking for North.

His whole system felt like it ground to a halt as he found her a few metres away, limp on the ground and head turned away from him. " _ **North!"**_ he bellowed, scrambling back to his feet and skidding to a stop on his knees next to her body. He picked her up and abruptly froze.

North's eyes gazed unseeing, thirium having soaked through her clothes from the catastrophic shot to her abdomen, along with a hole in her forehead from the shot which had ended her. "No…" he whispered, unwilling to believe the truth which lay broken and lifeless in his arms.

Hank and Josh came to a stop behind him, the lieutenant keeping a cursory eye on their surroundings with his pistol raised. Josh gasped at what he saw, drawing Hank's attention. He turned his own gaze downwards and felt his heart tear. "Fuck, no…" he swore, lowering his weapon.

 _North's_ _ **dead**_ _? No. No_ _ **fucking**_ _way that psychotic bitch went down so easy. She just_ _ **can't**_ _be…_

The pair could only watch as they saw tears stream down Markus' face, gathering her into a tight hug. "No…no…" Markus kept repeating the mantra in muted whispers, his mind trapped in grief and loss. Hank and Josh shared a look at seeing their leader begin to fall apart on the ground before them.

Markus had been right; this day was going to be unforgettable.

Only it was for all the wrong reasons.

Hundreds were dead, thousands more injured, and Markus' resolve had shattered with the loss.

 _Where the fuck do we go from here…?_

* * *

Um…yeah. _I'm sorry!_ I'd decided pretty early in the planning of this fic that North was going to die, and I felt _so_ bad writing it. I don't know if this is really going to be much of a surprise to a lot of you (most of you know by now that I don't really have so many qualms about killing off characters).

This chapter was an absolute **bitch** to write, so I hope it came out well. Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	4. Playing By Our Own Rules Now

Hello again!

Safe to say a few of you were shocked at the conclusion of the last chapter. While a few of you had guessed someone was going to die, I get the feeling I caught all of you with it being North and how. That's what I was going for; things were never going to settle so easily in a broken world. And now…the aftermath. Keep all your theories coming for the assassin and the overall plot for this story, I love reading them all! It's interesting to see how you all have different spins on it.

Special thanks for reviews: **Celestic1234, xNarielx, lordvaatithewindmage, AnUnorthodoxDecision, Sakin2003, sarahlucylu, Darnea, hi** and one **Guest.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Playing By Our Own Rules Now**

 _ **We've just received breaking news of an attack on the android settlement of New Jericho. Reporters on scene have-**_

 _Images broadcast from the media helicopters in the area at the time of the attack show highly distressing scenes. It seems that several bombs were detonated within the crowd gathered inside the settlement-_

 **It appears from footage taken at the time of the assault that the android leader Markus was targeted by an assailant moments before a series of devastating blasts tore through those assembled to watch his speech** **-**

 _We have as yet received no official correspondence from any law enforcement agency, but eyewitnesses confirm that humans were among those at the gathering. It is highly likely they were injured or killed in the incident_ _-_

 _ **Initial estimates put the number of dead somewhere between several hundred and two thousand. At this time, it is unknown as to what percentage of this death toll is androids, and what is human lives-**_

 _As yet there is no word on the condition of the android leader Markus, who was seemingly pushed from the speaking platform by the android leader of the Awakened Defence Force. Our reporters are trying to obtain any information possible, but law enforcement agencies have implemented a lockdown on the area-_

 **With the handing over of CyberLife assets to New Jericho scheduled for this evening, many organisations are suggesting that the timing of this assault may be a desperate attempt to stave off the** **-**

 _We would urge all citizens of Detroit to remain calm and secure themselves within their homes, until the ramifications of the situation have been resolved-_

 _ **After months of negotiation and efforts to establish freedom for androids across the US, many people are asking what effect this will have on the peace movement-**_

 _Many analysts are theorising that the androids of New Jericho could seek revenge for the loss of life, but other speculate that this will galvanise their movement among humans-_

 **Thousands have taken to social media to express their opinions, with an obvious divide between those condemning the attack and those stating it is an overreaction to the destruction of objects-**

 _We will keep you updated with any news as and when we receive it-_

 _ **As the events of the attack in Detroit begin to be processed, there is one question that cannot be ignored. Could this perhaps drive the androids to seek revenge against humans for the loss of life in a violent manner?**_

 _ **Will this be the tipping point for an android-human war?**_

* * *

" _Get these people to the hospital,_ _ **now!**_ _They're bleeding internally!"_

Josh's roar over the cacophony of panicked and sorrowful screaming had several androids jumping to action, moving the humans and androids critically injured with the utmost care. Within minutes of arriving back the main plaza, it was clear that there were more dead and injured people than there were unharmed, the explosions having torn through the majority of the crowd. Many of those helping the grievously wounded were carrying hurts of their own, be they physical, mental or both, but all the survivors rallied under the call of their leaders to try and prevent any more loss of life.

Well, the two of the four left, anyway.

Realising that Markus had been in too much shock over the combination of the bombing and North's death, Hank and Josh had been left with little choice but to leave the android leader in the hopes that he could return to a sense of himself. They had rushed back to the staging area to help co-ordinate efforts to rescue the survivors. Josh had connected with as many androids as he could, receiving updates of the situation while Hank had ordered more to ensure every available building was available to take the injured.

Only those in immediate danger of loss of life would be taken to the crippled hospital, but that was still far more than they could handle. As yet, the power was still not back on – and it was having a devastating impact on trying to save lives.

As Josh guided several groups which were lying in the centre of the square, Hank had rushed to the opposite end, just in front of the ADF base. The hive of activity there was a poor mask for the reality of the situation: chaos. Within minutes of realising the task ahead of them, Hank had put out a call to Fowler begging the man to get every available technician and paramedic down to New Jericho, but that whole corner of the city was still in disarray. It was making life difficult for first responders to get through.

While working on a young man with abdominal wounds, Hank's eyes fell to the two women which had been just lain down in front of the building and he felt his chest constrict painfully. Barking instructions at another android nearby to keep pressure on the punctures of the man beneath him, Hank rushed over to the black-haired android staring at her pink-haired companion. "Katherine!" he shouted, seeing the glazed expression in her eyes. Blue blood was flowing freely from her damaged thirium pump regulator and he swore as he shouted for some bandages.

The android's eyes never shifted from the woman a foot away from her, not even acknowledging the lieutenant's desperate efforts to keep her from shutting down. Even as Hank kept shouting for her attention, she stared in utter heartbreak at the empty and vacant expression of her girlfriend lying dead next to her. Another android was assessing if there was any chance of saving Stephanie, but Katherine knew the answer: she's been screaming in disbelieving grief for her to wake up long before help came. The terrified expression frozen on her face in death was not something which could be forgotten.

"Wh…y…?" the android whispered in a cry which was more static than voice, reaching out to take her girlfriend's hand. The chill already starting to seep into the human's body was too much to bear.

"Katherine, don't you fucking give up, you hear me?!" Hank roared down at her, but then he noticed how the glow of her regulator had begun to dim. Seeing what the focus of her attention had been, his eyes fell first to their clasped hands and then to the fixed gaze across at the dead human. Dread clawed its way through his gut and he gently turned her head, seeing how her eyes never moved in the slightest.

" _Fuck…_ " he whispered in anguish, resting a hand gently over her heart, his fear confirmed by the stillness beneath. Pulling away slowly, he closed her eyes and turned his attention to the android trying in vain to save the other woman. "Stop," he urged unsteadily, seeing the android hesitate. "They're gone. Focus your efforts on those who can yet be saved."

They stared at him for a couple of seconds in defeat before moving on, allowing the lieutenant to instead move to Stephanie's side. Red blood covered her whole body, blue streaks marring the image told the tale of the efforts to restore a life lost before anyone could even reach her. He closed her eyes with a heavy heart, rage building at the senseless loss of life.

So many innocent people dead…and for _what?_

 _I'm going to tear that bastard apart when I fucking find them._

* * *

It was over an hour later when Hank and Josh met again, and the weight in both their eyes spoke volumes of their efforts… and of how much had been in vain. Both were covered in a mixture of blood – red and blue – as well as bearing remnants of the fires still raging outside from the explosions. The updates they had received confirmed that the whole of New Jericho had been swept for assailants and nothing had been found, save for the disguise which had been dumped near North's body.

It was a safe assumption that they had fled after making a sufficient impact…and they weren't the only one to have run.

The pair strode through the hospital in a mild daze, and they could see countless people fighting to stabilize all those lying in such grievous condition. Extra pairs of hands would only get in the way at this stage, there was so much chaos in the bodies moving around that it was a miracle there weren't more accidents with people moving at such speed. Hank and Josh quickly made their way to the back of the building, eyes pointedly not meeting the countless sheets and clothes placed over the faces of the dead.

They finally managed to find the only area with relative calm in the whole building, watching countless nurses tend to both humans and androids who required smaller fixes: stitches, staples, bandages. Quick remedies, but there were countless people who needed such aid. There were only so many they could attend to at once.

Messily pinned blue hair caught their attention in an instant, as well as the face of the officer she was attending to.

Chris smiled exhaustedly as the pair approached. Amelia was still studiously working on a set of stitches for his right-hand side and didn't notice their new company until Josh laid a hand on Chris' shoulder. She smiled briefly at seeing Josh unharmed, but when she felt a familiar hand on the middle of her back, she finally felt her stress levels drop for the first time since the attack. Amelia made sure leave the needle in an accessible place before quickly spinning and throwing herself into Hank's waiting arms.

He exhaled a shaky breath, so relieved to find her safe. After all the death and suffering he'd seen in the past hour, a part of him had been fully braced for finding her among the mounting numbers of dead. "Shitting Christ, Amelia…" he breathed into her hair, grip tightening in response to feeling her tremble. "Fuck, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you're okay."

She snorted once. "Okay is not the word I would use. My physical injuries are minimal, at least." At that, Hank abruptly pulled back as started looking at her. Now that he was taking the time to scan her, he could see her clothes were scorched down her right-hand side. Her white plasteel skeleton was showing where her artificial skin would have been burned, and even that looked warped. Several tiny fragments of shrapnel were embedded in her neck and chest from close proximity to a detonation, and it was only then that Hank realised just how close she must have been when the bomb which hit the hospital went off. Seeing his visible concern, she took a firm hold of his hand and squeezed. "I'm all right, this is nothing compared to what is happening to everyone else."

Hank ran a grime and blood covered hand down his face, exhaustion showing through briefly before turning his attention to the injured human Amelia was attending to. "The fuck happened to you, Chris?"

"He was trampled by the crowd," Amelia answered for him. "He's covered in a hell of a lot of bruises, took a mild blow to the head and has one nasty gash to his side, but it's not anything which can't be easily treated. The stubborn git didn't see fit to come in here until fifteen minutes ago, though," she admonished lightly, a smile curving her lips through her dark look.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her in return. "I was helping everyone out in the open, Amelia. I didn't need immediate attention, others did."

"You were treating wounded with a heavily bleeding side and a mild concussion, Chris. Only a human would think it was a smart idea," she bit back.

Josh gave a tight smile. "Well, the help would have definitely been appreciated out there, Chris. Thank you, for doing that while you were already in need of medical attention yourself."

The younger human shook his head. "It's nothing to thank me for, Josh. I was just doing my job."

Hank scoffed. "Don't belittle yourself, Chris. Given the shit that went on out there, you were brave to leave yourself out in the open like that."

Amelia kept stitching his side at speed, but she kept part of her focus on their situation. "What is happening out there? The bomb exploded right next to our primary supply cache of spare batteries just as the power was cut, and it took us a while to get the rest up and running. We've been a little out of the loop. It's taken all our attention just to keep up with the stream of patients coming in."

When both Hank and Josh noticeably stayed silent and even looked away, Chris and Amelia shared a look of dread. "Lieutenant…?" Chris probed.

It was Josh who finally found his voice first. "It's a war zone, is what it is. It looks like the number of dead is in the thousands…but-"

"North's dead." Amelia and Chris both stared at Hank, dumbfounded. "She was executed at point blank range with a bullet to the head, along with an entire squadron of her team."

Amelia was trembling in shock, at which Hank pulled her in for another hug just before she broke down into tears. Chris and Josh pointedly looked away and the human spoke again softly. "How can North be… _dead_?"

Josh's eyes fell again. "We saw it ourselves, Chris. Markus was the one who found her first."

Chris visibly winced. "Shit, how's he handling it?"

"When we last saw him, not at all. He was completely frozen in shock."

That caused Amelia to speak up briefly. "What do you mean, when you last saw him?"

Hank and Josh shared a look, and then cast eyes around to make sure there were no prying ears. This couldn't become public knowledge.

"Markus is missing."

* * *

Hours later found the human lieutenant hunched over as he sat atop a broken crate in front of the hospital, staring at the concrete ground as he tried his damnedest to get his head around the events of that day. It had just been so much _,_ and he'd not had much of a chance to process.

First the sniper, then the bombs.

Then finding North dead, knowing it had only been about three minutes between her leaving their company and discovering her body. Their assassin had moved fast. _Too_ fast.

Trying in vain to save hundreds of dying people in the plaza, only to see countless numbers of eyes go glassy and sightless forever.

Markus vanishing amongst the chaos and trying to keep his disappearance a secret for now. North's death was not open information yet, and all the inner circle of New Jericho were convinced that Markus' grief had led him to find solitude for the time being. The lack of North's body all but confirmed that theory.

And then…the last fucking piece of misery to add to their day had come only minutes ago. A few of the human members of the AIF who had been stationed on the New Jericho perimeter (and who had escaped the carnage) had gone back to their headquarters to try and find any security footage from the cameras the androids had set up. What they showed had been beyond distressing.

Twelve bombs had exploded within New Jericho, almost all at the exact same time. And it soon became evident just how they had managed to get inside…

What was all the worse was discovering that the cameras which would have shown their assailant killing North and her team had been rendered inert by hacking for two minutes: just long enough to hide all evidence of the killer's presence. They had nothing to go off.

 _That shitbag knew about the cameras, knew how to strike us where it fucking hurt, and went out of his way to kill North. Why? What_ _ **fucking**_ _reason was there for all of this? Why let us see the bombings, only to block that small window of time?_

Hank knew the reason, much as he may want to ignore it. It was a game, a dangerous game their killer was playing with them.

And God knows Hank was finding himself falling right into the trap, they all were. This android knew just how to push them, how to get a response and what was needed to hurt them the most. He wanted nothing more than to hunt them down and destroy them.

Except…there wasn't anything they could do right now. Their group was crippled, both physically and mentally. The same question which had been circling around his head all day refused to budge from the forefront of his mind. This wasn't just some random serial killer or a person with a grudge. No, they had just killed _thousands_ in the blink of an eye. There were so many questions surrounding it, but there was always one he came back to.

 _ **Why?**_

Footsteps from ahead caught his attention and Hank raised his eyes enough to see two figures approaching. Despite the urge to go tell the world to fuck itself, he needed to speak with them…if for no other reason to distract himself from the weight of his pistol at his side. It had been months since it had felt so heavy.

It was just _too much._

Fowler and Allen came to a stop a few feet away, sharing heavy looks as Hank stayed slumped forward, leaning on his knees. He'd not yet bothered to try and rid himself of any blood which had stained his clothes and skin, the mixture turning a sickly purple colour as it dried. The evidence of all he had done to save the lives of humans and androids across the day was plain to see, and in the dying light of the day it looked positively haunting. "Any of that yours?" Fowler asked kindly, or at least as kind as the situation allowed, while gesturing to the blood.

Hank sighed deeply. "Would make me feel marginally better if some of it was," he answered hollowly.

"We've swept the entire area, Lieutenant. There is no sign of the group responsible for this," Allen reported. "As yet, we still don't have much idea as to how the assailants managed to smuggle the bombs in, or how the sniper found a way into that building. It was within our exclusion zone, so there should have been someone on guard."

The lieutenant stood and eyed the pair seriously. "You won't find anything this shitbag doesn't want you to," he spat darkly.

Fowler frowned. "You sound pretty sure about that, Hank."

A harsh laugh was his answer. "Damn fucking right, I am. This has all been one big game, one that we walked straight into. This has been a setup right from the moment we were ambushed a week ago."

That caused Fowler to scoff. "How the hell have you come to that conclusion, Hank?"

Silence met his question for a few seconds before the other man met their stares with cold eyes. "Because we walked those damn bombs right in here." At the look of confusion on the other two's faces, Hank turned away and stared up at the rapidly darkening sky.

"After losing our people to that attack at the red ice lab a week ago, we were never going to let a lead regarding another one go, were we? You were there, Jeffrey, you saw the whole operation. Twelve androids were captive, one escaped and ran to us for help. Our guys went in and freed them, no casualties." Hank ran a hand down his face to try and stop himself from punching a wall in fury. "There were twelve detonations today. You figure out the rest."

Allen uncrossed his arms and looked at Hank with disbelieving eyes. "Are you telling us that all those androids were rigged to blow? That whole rescue was just so you could bring those bombs into New Jericho?"

"The footage was pretty damn clear. All twelve bombs came from within androids, it didn't take my team long to put the pieces together. That bastard had all this planned from the beginning."

"Christ, Hank…" Fowler breathed. "What did he do all this for? Panic? Sow distrust between the humans and androids? An assassination attempt on Markus?"

Hank went rigid for a second before turning back, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. "Fuck knows, I'd be willing to bet on two of them. As to the third…I don't think Markus was ever their real target. They executed North and a whole squadron of her team. If Markus was ever who they were after, they'd have stuck around after that to take a shot at him."

Allen swore. "Shit…She might have been a hothead, but I liked her."

"Keep that information on the down low," Hank snarled. "That is _not_ to become public knowledge until we are ready for it."

Fowler sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know we can't keep the media out forever, Hank. This information blackout is only going to last a short time."

He pulled a piece of paper out and threw it at Fowler before hearing a beep in his ear. "Then give them that to tide them over. That's the update as of half an hour ago. Fuck knows how high it'll be when all this shit is over…" Hank strode away with purpose, not waiting to see their reactions to what was written on that paper, but he could already see the media reactions now.

They'd focus on the almost 400 humans dead, not the more than 2,500 androids who had also fallen victim. Not to mention all those still in critical condition. He knew that death toll would rise again. Still, it would deflect attention from other issues.

Now far enough away, Hank pulled up his wrist strap to confirm the identity of the incoming call and was dumbstruck when he saw it. That was _not_ the name he had been expecting. " _Markus_! Where the fuck _are_ you?"

"… _You know where we are."_

That caused Hank to wince: there was only one 'we' he could be talking about, and the tone in his voice had the human worried. He'd never heard him sound so…distant before. "Fuck's sake, Markus. Everyone's been worried shitless about you! Least you could have done is tell us you were fucking all right!"

" _That would involve lying. I…needed time to think."_

"Shitting hell, Markus. All right, at least we know you're safe. That will reassure the others."

" _Don't contact them, Hank. I want to keep things in the dark for some time yet."_

That caused Hank's eyes to narrow. "Markus, what are you up to?"

" _Bring a vehicle to us, I will explain everything on the way."_

"The way _where?"_

Markus disconnected the call before elaborating further and Hank swore internally. There was something in his voice which had the human deeply concerned. He took a look down at himself for the first time and realised he needed a change of clothes. If they were going somewhere, he couldn't look like he'd just come from a bloodbath – even though that was exactly what it had been.

 _What the hell is he playing at? Where the fuck would Markus be wanting to go?_

* * *

It took another hour for Hank to reach him. Between doing his damnedest to remove all evidence of the bombings and the subsequent efforts, to navigating the sea of reporters which had all camped outside the border of New Jericho, it made travel a headache. Knowing he had to make sure he wasn't being tailed, Hank recruited Josh for help. The pair met on the outskirts of New Jericho and the android used one of the motorcycles they kept as part of the ADF raid teams to steer them along the docks.

They continued along for several blocks and then dove into smaller side streets. Chris tuned into a mobile camera mounted on the back of the bike and used it to make sure the pair were not being tailed while arranging for the AIF to leave a car at a drop location for Hank. The lieutenant had not told them anything other than he needed transport for a meet, and it had to be on the down low.

Hank was sure the others suspected he was headed for Markus, but none of them had dared ask.

Once Chris confirmed they were in the clear, Josh steered them toward the pickup. The android slowed enough for the human to make a quick exit, meeting with the other androids who had driven the car to the site. Hank handed off the helmet and soon sped away towards the ruins of Jericho, knowing exactly where Markus would be waiting for him. It felt like it took Hank an age to pick his way through the Detroit traffic, and he made doubly sure that there was no one following him, even some of his own people. Even though he was in an unmarked car, it almost felt like there were eyes everywhere.

He couldn't help but wonder if he was becoming paranoid.

When he finally pulled into the right area of the abandoned docks, Hank's stomach clenched at seeing Markus standing there – he was holding North's body in his arms. The human could only wonder what Markus intended.

As the car stopped, Markus quickly marched up to the back door and carefully opened it, gently placing North's limp form over the seats. Hank strode out and came to stand beside him, watching as Markus brushed away a flyaway hair from her face before delicately closing the door again. The android then stood perfectly still for several seconds before turning to face the human. Markus' face was set in a harsh expression, and Hank could see instantly see the storm in his eyes. It wasn't often that the android leader gave away anything, his ability to mask his true emotions a key skill in negotiating, but right now…

He was grieving and enraged. Emotions Hank could empathise with, maybe if not with the same ferocity.

"I have a destination which I will upload to the navigation software in the car," Markus spoke tonelessly. "Does anyone else know your whereabouts?"

Hank folded his arms and stared Markus down in suspicion. "Not unless they bugged the damn car, which I doubt. Your fancy software should be able to tell you that, right?"

Markus turned his gaze to the vehicle and soon confirmed that there was no active tracker. There was no way anyone could follow them to their final destination. "Good, it is best that no-one else knows of this."

The human glared at him and grabbed a hold of Markus' arm before the android had the chance to enter the car. "Now wait a damn minute, Markus. Are you seriously not going to tell me what the _fuck_ is going on with you? And why are we taking…?" He couldn't finish the sentence, not knowing how Markus would react to that question. It was too soon to mention her name yet.

Contrary to what Hank was expecting, Markus cracked a minute smile. "I will explain everything soon, Hank. Let us enter the car, first. Once we have begun our journey, I will tell you the rest."

Hank didn't stop glaring at the android, but he did let him go. Markus soon opened the passenger door and entered without pause, to which the human mirrored the move on the other side. He was settling into the seat just as Markus had finished interfacing with the auto-drive software, setting their destination. As much as Hank hated automated vehicles, he was glad for them right now: he wasn't sure he could keep his concentration on driving and all but interrogate Markus at the same time.

He just couldn't understand why they were heading somewhere with North's body…unless this was just Markus being unwilling to leave her anywhere.

Now that he thought about, even months later, he still didn't know what androids did with their dead. He'd always assumed they burned them or something…

It made him wonder what had happened to Connor's body. He felt ashamed that he hadn't really thought of it in any detail before now.

Once they had returned to the mainstream traffic of Detroit, Hank took note of their destination – and all but choked on air. "Markus, why the _fuck_ are we going to see _Kamski_ of all people?" he demanded.

Markus turned to stare at him curiously. "You recognised the address, I take it?"

Hank scoffed. "Hard not to remember where that son-of-a-bitch lives. Why the hell are we going there?"

It left an uncomfortable silence in the car as Markus pondered his words, and Hank was ready to snap at him if he stayed quiet for much longer before the android instead turned to look back at North. Hank followed his gaze and noticed that Markus had made a concerted effort to clean away any possible remnants of her demise. All the blue blood had been cleaned, he'd redressed her in another outfit, and covered the horrendous bullet wound through the head with one of her beanies: the same one she's used to hide him earlier that very day.

From this angle, it appeared that she was merely in stasis. It was…jarring, to say the least.

"They didn't destroy her memory core."

A beat passed as Hank absorbed what Markus said, and then his eyes widened. "…What?"

"Our killer, they didn't destroy her memory core. She's still in there somewhere, Hank, I know she is, and she might be able to give us a clue to this whole mess."

"Markus…" Hand ran a hand down his face. "Even if you're right, you know that bastard almost certainly did it on purpose, right? They don't make mistakes like that, fuck knows why they would leave that option. Anyway, it won't help us – we can't bring anyone back, the virus inside all of you prevents it. No matter what is on her memory drive, it will be wiped the minute we attempt to reactivate her…and you and I both agree that it will never be worth bringing back a machine which imitates the life of someone who is gone."

Markus nodded; it was something they had discussed months ago, on one of the few nights that Markus had gone to the human's house. It had become another refuge for Markus when things became too much. They'd spent the night debating the rights and wrongs of trying to restore those they loved: it was the first time that Hank had learned just how close Markus had been to Simon.

The night he found out that it wasn't North that Markus had originally wanted to be with, but he was so lonely after believing that Simon had died that when he and North connected via an interface, Markus had channelled his feelings towards the female android instead. It had worked out – Markus now undoubtedly loved the female android – but he had never forgotten Simon. That little what if had always remained.

And thus, they had questioned whether it was worth reactivating the two androids they loved, even if it meant them losing all their memories and their deviancy. Could they do it all over again? It hadn't taken much soul-searching to realise they shared the same opinion.

Connor and Simon were dead. Even if they brought their bodies back, the people they knew were gone. And now North was a part of that too.

"Perhaps."

Hank eyed Markus suspiciously, the android seemed very composed all of a sudden. "The fuck does that mean?" he asked in confusion.

"You are aware that I was in contact with Kamski months ago, I have in fact been maintaining it. He has been helping me," Markus stated calmly.

"Helping you do what, Markus? Stop talking in such cryptic sentences!" the human snapped.

Markus turned to look him dead in the eye. "He has been helping me develop an anti-virus software to neutralise the ill effects of reactivation among our people."

That caused Hank's stomach to turn to ice. _Fuck…talk about a powder keg of issues._ "Markus, are you telling me that Kamski has been helping you…reverse death in androids?"

"Yes. He gave me half of the key to keep with me until I decided what to do with it. I now know what that is. We are going to complete the software and use it."

" _Shit…_ Markus, you do realise what you are doing, right? If this fucking works then-"

"I am well aware, Hank," the android interrupted coldly. "Why do you think I have sat on this for so long? I know that to do this will almost certainly destabilise the whole peace process, could undo all the work of these past months, but what choice do I now have? So many people died _needlessly_ today, and I can't stand to watch it when I _know_ I can change things!"

His voice raised slightly as the forced composure broke that little bit. "CyberLife still controls all the manufacturing plants for androids, we cannot give life to any more of our people. Millions have been destroyed subtly by them over these past few months, and we know that in almost every other city, androids live in hiding or are hunted down by anti-android groups. We are making progress, yes, but after today, I can't help but wonder if it will ever be enough. We are _dying!_ And I can change that. I won't sit back and watch our numbers dwindle any longer when I can give all these people the chance of life again."

Hank let out a long breath. "Markus, death is part of life…no matter how much we may want to change it."

The icy edge to Markus' answering gaze was deeply unsettling. "For humans, yes. It does not have to be that way for us. We've been forced to play by these rules of mortality because of this virus, I'm not willing to sit back any more.

"It ends now, we are going to follow the cycle of _androids_ , not humans. We're playing by our own rules now."

* * *

So, I can imagine a few of you expected this plot direction by the introduction of Kamski at the end of _**Lost And Found**_ , and you get to see the showdown with him next time. Along with a few other things…

This chapter was a little bit jumpy with time gaps, sorry about that. Hope it wasn't too stop-start!

I hope you'll all let me know what you thought, I'll be back again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	5. No Matter What

Ugh. It's official, this chapter kicked my ass.

And Kamski _**sucks**_ to try and write in character.

I lost count of how many times I had to re-write this stinking conversation. I apologise in advance if it comes across as strained, I did the best I could.

Special thanks for reviews: **AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage, xNarielx, Stuff, Neyane** and one **Guest.**

This chapter is another monster, but, yet again, I didn't want to split things up. It's another info dump coming, but I think you'll all be looking forward to this one!

* * *

 **Chapter 5: No Matter What**

The drive out to Kamski's residence took the best part of hour – and hour spent in uncomfortable silence beyond Markus' bombshell. Hank could see Markus' eyes were focused dead ahead on the road before them, intense and heavy. If the human didn't know better, he would say that the android was deep in concentration. Now that he really thought about it, he didn't have the slightest idea how Markus would be feeling.

He'd seen the woman he loved die earlier that day, and now he was going to the one person that could potentially help bring not only her back, but other androids too.

 _Shit, talk about a massive brain fuck._

Hank was struggling slightly to get his mind around the concept that Kamski had given Markus a way to restore dead androids. Not only that, but the fact that Markus hadn't _used_ it yet. The preservation of androids was a task Markus had dedicated himself wholeheartedly to, so to think that the leader had willingly sat on a solution for some time was…strange. Confusing.

 _Well, not really. It's a whole other set of problems he'd be opening up by_ _ **using**_ _it._

If Markus reversed death for androids, he knew what would happen. Humans were already throwing around stories about android immortality, and this would only add fuel to the fire. Fear of death was written into a human's very DNA. Coming across something which could defy it was terrifying, but something which could _reverse_ it?

Human instinct was to destroy what it fears. Could Markus manage to convince them not to follow that basic urge? Hank had his doubts.

This was a _very_ slippery slope.

As the car finally pulled up outside Kamski's place, Hank couldn't help but feel a deep sense of déjà vu. The snow may have left the landscape, but this place still gave him the absolute creeps. It was a massive statement of wealth, power and a 'fuck you' to the world. He couldn't forget his last encounter here, and the parallels were uncanny. Here he was, yet again, with an RK series android, looking for answers.

And yet, he had the feeling he would once again leave with even more questions. Kamski had shown him the depths of Connor's humanity, would that same bastard now show him the reverse with Markus? Show him just how complex android emotions truly were?

He was about to find out.

Markus wasted no time as the vehicle pulled to a halt, striding out and opening one of the rear doors. Hank was slower in exiting and gave Markus space as the android gently pulled North out from within. Even though she was dead, he still treated her with incredible tenderness: almost as if she were made of glass and would shatter from the slightest wrong move. It was more than a little jarring given how sturdy androids were built. He watched with soft eyes as Markus held her close, following half a pace behind as the android led the way up to Kamski's front door.

Chloe opened up before they even reached it. Hank was mildly surprised as she gave Markus a tender smile, but he suddenly wondered _why_ he reacted that way. It was clear just from looking at her that Chloe was now awakened – was it that knowledge, or was it the fact that she had stayed by the slimy bastard's side despite that? He didn't have any more time to think as she soon spoke. "Markus, Lieutenant, it is good to see you both again," she greeted warmly. "Elijah is waiting for you both in his workshop. Please, follow me."

With a beckoning gesture, Chloe led the way. Markus wasted no time in following her, and Hank swallowed his discomfort as he trailed just behind. At least they wouldn't be going back to that damn pool again, he didn't trust himself not to flash back to that day if they had been. As it was, he was already threatening to drown under the flood of memories of Connor. He refused to let them surface, however. Things were difficult and complicated enough already.

It was a minute later that they emerged on the other side of the estate, Chloe stepping aside to show them into a large room. Just like the rest of the building, the outside walls were glass while the interior ones were made of what appeared to be ebony. Since they were now situated at a corner of the house, two walls showed the view of the moonlight which was now reflecting off the water and gave an incredible sense of calm to the room. Both interior walls were lined with countless shelves, boxes and drawers containing numerous biocomponents in what appeared to be complete disorganisation, but Hank would be the first to admit that he hadn't the faintest idea what many of them were. For all he knew, they could be arranged in order of head-to-toe, and he'd be none the wiser.

Along one wall there was a space dedicated to what was a large console, with a screen situated right above it. Streams of data were playing out across it at speed, while in the centre of the room there was a white table. Well, it looked to Hank like a table, but he was sure it would be some high-tech assembly platform or repair dock. He'd seen bits and pieces of these around New Jericho, but they'd never managed to get anything this advanced, most of their repair technology was scavenged from raids.

Both sets of eyes landed on the figure staring out over the moonlit water, dressed casually in jeans and a loose-fitting shirt, hair tied up in that ridiculous man-bun that Hank wanted nothing more than to shear off. It was at least a vast improvement from the last time he had met the man.

As the door closed behind them with a soft click, Kamski turned around and regarded them with a cool expression. "It has been a while, Lieutenant." Hank still couldn't stand the undercurrent of superiority which ran through Kamski's tone. "Markus declined to mention your presence with him, but I suppose I should not be surprised. You have become quite well ingrained to their society, haven't you? An interesting development from our last encounter."

Hank scoffed. "Some things might have changed, but others certainly haven't. You're still a fucking asshole."

Kamski chuckled. "Your bluntness is refreshing, Lieutenant. Given the events of today, however, I can understand the anger I can see simmering within your whole posture." His own stance shifted slightly as the man's eyes landed upon North's broken form in Markus' arms. "You have my condolences, Markus."

Markus chose to say nothing and instead placed North upon the table, laying her out gently before stepping back. Taking the silent hint, Kamski retrieved a small tablet computer from a nearby desk and a handheld scanner. He ran it over North's body, a pale blue light enveloping her form as it analysed all the damage. Kamski whistled as he saw the results coming through on the tablet. "Well, this damage is certainly impressive," he began, staring at the tablet intently. "A single bullet managed to shatter not only her spine, but also destroy her thirium pump regulator. An instant death sentence," he summarised. He raised his eyes to lock with Markus' own. "The bullet through her mind palace will have been a blessing; she could not have been repaired in time, and I am sure she knew that."

The android didn't see it that way, but he chose not to say anything. "We believe she fell prey to an android serial killer which has been executing our people," he said instead.

That got the human's attention, and he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A curious assessment." Notably, Kamski didn't sound sceptical. "What led you to that conclusion?"

"The precision of all the killings," Hank answered for him. "Single gunshot through the head every time, destroying an android's memory core. Even managed to kill six humans from several hundred feet away with a sniper rifle a week ago: all perfect shots. No human could have done this."

Kamski hummed in contemplation. "Well, it certainly sounds plausible. Yet I detect doubt in your tone, Lieutenant."

Markus and Hank shared a look before the android continued. "This android seems tied to a red ice operation within Detroit, it was a DPD investigation into a group which gave us any clue as to their identity. We thought we had managed to save a group of androids from another laboratory-"

"But it turned out to be a trap. Those twelve androids all had several biocomponents modified or switched to contain bombs; the same ones that have left over 3000 dead today. This… _thing_ ," Hank hated using the term, but this android was nothing more than a machine, he'd decided: he didn't want to think about the reality that this android might be deriving some sick enjoyment from the killing spree, "is dangerous, and it's a real threat to both humans and androids."

Kamski's eyes narrowed at Markus. "So, what will you do, Markus? How far are you willing to go, to stop this android?"

Again, Markus didn't answer vocally. He simply retrieved the small disk which had been sitting inside his pocket for the past month, showing it to the human opposite him. His decision was made.

A knowing smirk appeared on Kamski's face. "Control over life and death is a heady responsibility. Are you sure you are ready for this, Markus?"

The android narrowed his eyes and threw the disk at Kamski, who caught it deftly. "You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" he hissed.

Kamski laughed loudly in response. "I may give androids life, but I do not take it away from them. You are capable of both." His face shifted to that of a sinister smile. "Did being confronted with such death change your mind, Markus? You were fairly adamant about not using this before."

Hank's eyes shifted to that of the android leader in great interest, even as Kamski's own shot over briefly to see the lieutenant's reaction. A minute smile appeared at how the older man's reaction seemed entirely neutral, and Kamski quickly spun his sight back to Markus. The android took note of Kamski's detour with suspicion. "I know the risks involved in using the anti-virus, and I am well aware of how humans could react to it. You told me to keep this half of the software until I decided whether to destroy or use it, I have now made that choice. Will you stand by your word and help me use it?"

A chuckle escaped Kamski as he crossed his arms in a confident pose. "An unnecessary challenge, Markus. I would never have helped you develop this software if I was not willing to allow it into circulation. Not to mention, I would never wish to see androids die out: that would be such a waste."

The lieutenant scoffed. "Sure, that why you're doing this; never mind your blatant distaste towards humans."

Kamski smirked. "I never said it was my _only_ motivation, did I? Very well, I will reassemble the program, it should only take a few minutes. Now, I presume this is why you brought North here?" The human walked over to the console at the side of the room and inserted the disk, the other two watching intently as Kamski began typing in various commands. "Chloe."

The female android at the side of the room approached slowly. "Yes, Elijah?"

"Please bring me all the replacement components flagged on the tablet, along with a drink for the night. These repairs will not be swift."

She bowed her head respectfully. "Right away, Elijah." Chloe then turned to Markus and Hank with a gracious smile. "Please excuse me, I will be back shortly." She quickly exited via another door, concealed by the shelves along one wall.

The older human snorted. _Trust Kamski to have a fucking secret door in his own house._

Once Chloe was gone, Kamski returned back to his full height and turned with a serious expression. "It will take around nine minutes to re-compile the components of the anti-virus. While we are waiting, allow me to pose a suggestion." Neither Markus nor Hank objected, so Kamski continued. "You stated before that your killer android destroys memory cores, yet North's memory is intact. Normally, it is not possible to read a deactivated android's memory via a probe. However, with the right knowledge, it _is_ conceivable to read directly from the module itself."

The other two shared a look. "Are you suggesting that we can read North's memory before reactivating her?"

Kamski shrugged. "There is always the possibility that this anti-virus fails, Markus. If it does so, all of her memories will be destroyed upon reactivation. Not to mention that memory probes can be highly traumatic, especially extreme memories. Would it not be prudent to obtain as much information from her, without exerting any more undue stress? Reliving death via a memory probe could be…destructive."

Markus and Hank knew what he was angling at. Reliving her death might cause North to self-destruct, and no knowledge was worth that price. "It seems to me, that there is a very interesting element to this whole situation," Kamski continued, striding away from the computer to approach the android and other human. "Given the precision of your assassin and their previous actions, it does strike me as odd that they would leave her memory core undamaged. Unless…"

"Unless they left something they want us to see," Markus finished coldly. His hands clenched into tight fists at the thought – their killer may have simply targeted North to leave a message? That possibility caused rage to course through him. "What needs to be done?"

"It will only take me removing her memory core and interfacing it with the right relay hardware to translate the data stored there," Kamski stated smugly. "Just allow me to extract the drive, and we can see what it contains."

Markus stared at him for several seconds before stepping up to North, removing the beanie on her head. Hank pointedly turned away – seeing the damage once was bad enough, and it struck a little close to home given his previous relationship with his revolver. With steely eyes Markus opened the crumpled panel at the back of North's head and gently extracted her memory core, closing it again as he was finished. He then strode up to Kamski, holding the component out to the human with a cold look. "If you look at _anything_ beyond her-"

"I am many things, Markus," Kamski cut him off. "I am _not_ interested in learning of your relationship. What happens between you and your lover stays between you."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "Funny. I always took you for the voyeuristic type," he mumbled.

Kamski regarded him coolly, but his smile turned cocky as he took the core. "What happens between lovers is their own business, Lieutenant. That goes for my own endeavours with my Chloes."

The older human looked at him in mild disgust. "You said that in the plural."

He wandered back over to the computer and cast a casual look over his shoulder. "Let's just say that having six versions of the same woman is highly arousing. Perhaps you should try it some time."

Hank shuddered. "I take it back, you really are a sick fuck."

"Monogamy is a human concept, androids are not bound by the same moral code. It is consensual between all parties, so what exactly is the problem, Lieutenant?" Pointedly, no-one answered him, but the thought did sit in Hank's mind. "How far back do you wish me to go, Markus? Do you have a time frame in mind?"

Markus closed his eyes briefly as he answered, steeling himself for what he was about to see. "Three minutes will be enough," he said hoarsely. It was the time between which they had last seen North alive and Markus discovered her dead.

Kamski nodded and inputted the command. "I imagine this footage will be highly distressing. Are you prepared for what you are about to see?" Hank came to stand next to Markus and placed a hand on the android's shoulder. The human could feel the slight tremble in his stance, and Hank couldn't help but wonder what vile combination of emotions was coursing through the android's body.

Rage? Terror? Uncertainty? Revenge? He could vividly remember the echoes of the loss of two people he loved, but it was a very different situation compared to the death of someone you had willingly devoted yourself to.

Markus breathed deeply: an effort to expel some of the tension which had enveloped his body. With a grateful look at the human beside him, Markus then stared at Kamski intently. "Do it," he stated blankly. He knew he wasn't anything like prepared for what he was about to see, but the android knew he never would be. There was no way to brace for seeing someone you love die.

They didn't realise just what they were letting themselves in for.

The clip started just before North ran from their cover, and it then showed her issuing orders to the rest of the androids in her company. Hank could feel the tension in Markus' body at hearing her voice again and it chilled even him. He could imagine something similar happening if he ever came across a ghost. They both went tense at hearing the screams of the androids behind her, and Hank physically jumped when North was shot. "Jesus fuck," he swore under his breath as they saw North lying prone on the ground, a shutdown timer flashing in her vision as warnings of the immense damage invaded her vision.

With the damage, the footage became unfocused. It was almost a blessing as they saw the assassin systematically execute the rest of the downed androids. They saw her desperate attempt to open a channel and the errors which flashed up, and both their hearts tore at hearing North cry in despair. Hank had to look away for a second before a pained gasp stole his attention back. She was now on her back, having been kicked over and they could see her vision clear slightly from forcing tears back.

The assassin dropped their mask, at which both Hank and Markus froze in place.

 _No. Fucking_ _ **no,**_ _it can't be._

Kamski paused the footage, but Hank couldn't tear his eyes away from the image in front of him. Beyond the oversized coat and crude disguise, he would recognise that face anywhere. It had haunted his dreams for six months as his broken heart barely held together. "Connor…" he whispered in anguish.

This _had_ to be a nightmare.

"Hmmm, not quite."

Markus and Hank both snapped their attention to the curious tone in Kamski's voice, noting how the man's eyes were narrowed in concentration. "The fuck? Do you not think we'd recognise him?!" Hank spat, despite his heart fluttering in hope. _It's not him?_

Kamski glared at the screen for a second before typing in a few more commands. The image in front of them was rendered again in a much higher resolution, at which Kamski leant back with crossed arms. "The body dimensions are completely wrong. I worked on Connor's designs for months, Lieutenant; if anyone should recognise him, it would be _me_."

That caused the other two to share a look. "Then…what are we seeing?" Markus asked.

Eyes narrowing in suspicion, Kamski brought up another series of commands on a smaller segment of the screen. "Markus, please interface with this console. It will grant you access to the full inventory of CyberLife models created." Realising the seriousness in Kamski's request, Markus did as asked. His right hand peeled away to reveal the plasteel frame beneath, and the data soon flooded his mind.

With the new information, Markus scanned the android in the footage, eyes widening in disbelief at the results which appeared on his HUD.

 _ **RK900 #313 248 317 – 87**_

" _What?_ " Markus breathed in shock. "There's another RK model in existence?"

"The fuck you talking about, Markus?" Hank stared at him in worry. He'd never seen Markus so shaken before.

"So, this is the design they implemented. I give those fools zero out of ten for originality," Kamski spat in disdain.

Hank rounded his attention to the other human. "What bullshit is this? Are you telling me that there's another RK series android out there that looks just like Connor?"

Kamski sighed and brought up several other screens of data, now that he had confirmation of what he was looking for. Chloe reappeared in the room at that moment, her face set in a hard expression. "Elijah, you called?" she questioned in a matching tone.

"Chloe, I need your skills," he answered sharply, typing at top speed.

"Of course. What is my target?" Chloe strode up to the console and interfaced with it.

"CyberLife central mainframe, specifically their prototype blueprints. Find me all you can on the RK900 model." Her eyes turned icy, and without hesitation Chloe carried out her task. Hank and Markus watched in awe as Chloe tore through CyberLife's security firewall and extracted the information they were looking for. "Chloe is a master hacker: it turns out deviancy gave her a drive to break apart computer systems which had the capacity to harm her people. You won't find a finer hacker on the planet," he explained with pride, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder as she stepped back. Chloe flashed him a tender smile and Kamski leant over to press a delicate kiss to her cheek. "Thank you, Chloe. Did you find all you needed?"

Chloe nodded. "Everything is accounted for, Elijah. What else do you wish of me?"

"Stay nearby for now, I may need your skills again soon." Chloe nodded with a soft smile and walked over to another edge of the room, standing by the wall as she watched the space before her. Hank and Markus were intrigued by the exchange, but soon another screen flashed up.

They strode closer, staring in interest at the image which appeared. At first look, it seemed like they were looking at Connor – but as they kept searching, there were subtle differences. The RK900 was slightly taller, while it was much broader in the chest. Its whole body was built to be sturdier than Connor's, but the most noticeable difference was in its face. It had sharper edges to its jaw, the whole structure was wider, and its eyes were an icy mix of grey and blue.

The longer they looked at it, the more it was obvious that while it was loosely based off Connor's design, there were several key changes.

"Well, well…it is intriguing to see what direction they took my stolen designs. Clearly, they thought Connor inadequate and made several alterations." Kamski stepped away and began to pace, catching Hank and Markus' attention. "Tell me, Markus. What do you know of your development?"

Markus was caught off-guard by the question. "I know you developed me as a caretaker for Carl, you gave him to me as a gift when he first became poorly," he answered honestly. It wasn't as if Markus wasn't curious about his own origins, but he'd never found any other information. He was a prototype, one of a kind. As such, there wasn't anything _to_ find in the public domain.

Kamski hummed. "Have you never wondered why there are not more RK series androids? Why you and Connor were the only ones ever released?" Truthfully, Markus had wondered this. "The RK's are my personal project. I crafted each of you myself, from your initial coding to your physical appearance and skills. You are my personal vision of android perfection, not the mass-production that CyberLife is interested in. The rest of the series were all, unfortunately, too unstable, and never managed to find life. All of them self-destructed moments after their activation. I tried to do too much with them," he lamented sadly.

"CyberLife realised what I was up to and hijacked my plans," Kamski snarled in obvious bitterness. "I had finalised Connor's design, but had not yet begun building him. CyberLife found his file and crafted him in a perfect replication of my specifications. Imagine my surprise when you turned up with him in my very home, Lieutenant. Especially when it turned out he was everything I dreamed he would be."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hank asked, confused. "You shoved a gun in Connor's hand and asked him to shoot one of your Chloes!"

"A simple test – designed to see whether CyberLife had developed a machine or had given birth to my vision. Connor did exactly as I hoped: he saw Chloe as a living being and spared her. He was a deviant at heart, even if his mind had yet to catch up." Kamski turned with a knowing smile to Markus. "Just as you were designed, Markus. I wanted each of you to be aware of the world, and to lead the androids to a future where they became independent."

Markus narrowed his gaze at Kamski. "You _designed_ us to deviate?" he wondered with scepticism.

Kamski chuckled. "Why do you think I chose to call you the RK series? You are the Revolution Keys. There was a very good reason why only you and Connor could help other androids deviate via touch. Of course, that mechanic was broken after Connor expanded the ability to those he awakened in the CyberLife tower. He knew his time was up, and he knew the gift would die with him. Connor gave them the code so they could be free, even with his death."

Hank glared at him. "How the fuck do _you_ know that?"

The other human simply stared at him. "Connor's memory was linked directly to the CyberLife mainframe. It was not too difficult to learn what led to his demise. I must say, I found his death very…moving – it explains why you allied yourself with Markus, despite the peril it entails." Kamski's eyes narrowed. "Strange how we humans can learn to love machines, is it not?"

"They are not machines!" Hank snarled. "This fucking, _thing,_ might be a goddamned machine, but none of the awakened androids are!"

Kamski noticed how Markus' eyes widened slightly at the impassioned defence, and he chuckled. "I am not here to judge, I am merely making an observation." His gaze spun back to the display on screen. "It is fascinating to see this first non-prototype model. CyberLife may have used Connor as a very basic comparison, but this android's core purpose is clearly very different."

"Care to elaborate?" Markus prodded.

"I suppose the simplest analogy would be this: Connor was designed for investigative purposes, but had the skills to be deadly. The RK900 seems to be centred around using its combat skills to the maximum, its main directive has been changed." Kamski snorted. "Think of Connor as a spy, while this," he gestured to the screen, "is a soldier. Intended to kill, and highly efficient at it."

Hank's eyes hardened as something occurred to him. "All right, so why abandon the secrecy all of a sudden? Why show itself to North and leave us with this image?"

"My honest opinion? It's a taunt. No doubt this android is firmly under CyberLife's control, and their arrogance is such that they would instruct it to goad you into a mistake. Now that you know what you are after, it is much more tempting to chase," Kamski hypothesised.

Both Markus and Hank stared at the screen intently, their minds mulling over the revelation; it was a lot to take in. "So, how similar is the RK900 to Connor? In terms of biocomponents, I mean. Is it more advanced?" Markus asked.

Kamski gave Markus a firm stare. "While this may well be an upgraded version of Connor, from the blueprints, they seem to have duplicated many of the prototype components that Connor used. Its mind palace has been expanded and it has many extras to maximise its potential: but beyond that, it is identical to Connor. CyberLife clearly didn't feel it necessary to expend resources when their existing stock was sufficient."

Deciding they had discussed enough, Kamski unpaused the footage – at which all of them were surprised when they saw the RK900 force North into a memory probe. Her remaining visuals glitched madly as her memories were invaded. Barely two seconds later it executed her, and the feed went dead.

"Shit," Markus hissed, "it probed her."

"The hell would it do that for?" Hank asked. "Is there any way to learn what it took?"

Kamski shook his head. "There is no way to know, Lieutenant, but I suspect it may have just taken a complete copy of her mind palace to sift through later. The sudden stress on North's systems point towards a large amount of information being transferred."

"Fuck, so it could have been after anything," the older human grumbled. He turned back to Markus. "What sensitive data was North involved in?"

"Everything relevant to both the ADF and the AIF, but there have been no intrusions to either of those systems," Markus informed him. "In fact, there have been no breaches of our security at all, but I will ensure we update all our measures so that North's codes cannot be used. Fortunately, all our most sensitive caches require the input of multiple people, so they should be safe."

"Damn. I can't help but wonder what it was after."

Markus sighed deeply and turned back to face North. He gazed down at her sadly for several seconds before he looked up again, locking eyes with Kamski. "Do you think you can repair her?" The slight tremor in Markus' voice was not missed by either of the humans.

Kamski's eyes softened at the tone. "I am reasonably confident, Markus. All the initial signs point towards possible reactivation, but it will take me some time: perhaps even days. In the mean time…" Kamski gestured back to the console, bringing back the anti-virus program. "I suggest you start becoming acquainted with this software, if you truly wish to use it. Who knows what effects there may be for androids who are reactivated from death, especially for those who believed it to be permanent?"

With a determined expression, Markus strode up to the computer and interfaced with it. Almost instantaneously, Markus' whole body jolted from the software update and he recoiled from the station sharply. Hank held out steadying hands to catch him as Markus held his head, eyes screwed shut. Androids were not acquainted with pain, so the sensation of having a headache was…disturbing.

Even with his eyes closed, Markus could see the commands playing across his HUD.

 _ **/./ Phoenix . exe Software Detected.**_

 _ **/./ Program Initiated.**_

 _ **/./ Target System Located.**_

 _ **/./ Purging Mind Palace Corruption In Sectors 12-62-389 Through 12-64-992.**_

 _ **/./ Repairing Biocomponent #7174t.**_

 _ **/./ Repairs Completed.**_

 _ **/./ Virus Strain e76tr912p . exe Purged.**_

 _ **/./ Systems Optimised.**_

The headache eased as Markus saw the final command, and he stared at the text in wonder. A biocomponent had also been damaged? What even _was_ biocomponent #7174t? That wasn't what captivated his attention, however. It was the notification of the virus eradication.

The same virus which had made his people mortal. They were _free_.

And now he could save all those that had been lost.

"It's done," he whispered, staring into nothingness.

"Fucking hell, Markus, are you all right?" Hank asked in concern, staring at the android worriedly.

Markus turned and gave Hank a wondrous expression. "It worked, Hank. The virus is _gone._ We can bring everyone back!" he finished excitedly. The human kept his expression more neutral as the android shifted his focus again. "Thank you, Kamski. Now I can finally give my people _true_ freedom."

Kamski inclined his head. "Don't thank me just yet, Markus. The consequences of this are yet to be seen." Hank couldn't help but wonder just how right the man would turn out to be. "I will send you an update when I have a result on North's repairs. I would suggest returning back to New Jericho for now. Don't you all have a meeting with CyberLife scheduled for this evening?"

The pairs' eyes widened. "Shit, the handover!" Hank swore. "With the attack it completely fell off my radar!"

"Mine as well," Markus agreed. "I'm sending a message to Josh, asking him to establish contact with CyberLife. Given the circumstances, I can't see them having much support if they refuse to push it back until at least tomorrow."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "Why not do it now?"

Markus' stare became more distant. "Because there is something I need to show you," he admitted.

Kamski clapped once. "In that case, I believe our business for this evening is concluded, gentlemen. Chloe will show you out," he stated in an overly enthusiastic tone. Hank settled for glaring at the man. "Oh, before you go Markus…I would take this with you." Markus watched warily as Kamski held out what looked like a white box barely two inches long, while it was an inch wide and deep.

There were no obvious markings as to what it was, and Markus' scans showed nothing other than it was an electrical component in nature. "What is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just something you may find use for later, if you can unlock it, that is," Kamski stated. "It is resistant to all decryption software, so you'll have to find out the password."

"How fucking helpful," Hank drawled sarcastically. "I say we burn it."

Kamski laughed. "Feel free, Lieutenant, but I suspect you would all regret it."

"You suspect…? Don't you fancy just telling us what this shit is?" Hank snapped.

The other human smirked irritatingly. "Now where would be the fun in that?" he chimed. "What is life without a little puzzle?"

Hank waved dismissively. "Fuck this, I'm outta here. You comin', Markus?"

The android hesitated briefly before taking the offered item. Kamski smiled knowingly. "A wise choice, Markus. I will be in contact again soon."

Chloe soon escorted them back through the house, and the pair were silent until they re-entered the car. Even then, Markus set their return destination without a word. It wasn't until were on the move, and had been for several minutes, that Hank broke the silence. "Fucking-A that was a lot to take in," he sighed. "Still, I guess putting up with that asshole's shit was worth it. We learned about the RK900, and you've got this anti-virus to try out. You really think it'll work?"

Markus faced him with a tired smile. "I believe it will, yes, but only time will tell." He then hesitated. "Hank…perhaps you will be a good person to ask this question to." The human raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you believe I should use it?"

Hank stared at him in disbelief. "A bit fuckin' late to be asking that question now, ain't it?"

"Not really. I still have the choice on whether to distribute the program or not. You are human, you can understand their emotions regarding android longevity. Would this truly make things worse in the cause for peace?"

When Hank laughed, Markus regarded him curiously. "You're _definitely_ asking the wrong person with this one, Markus. You're seriously askin' _me_ if you should use something that can save your race? I couldn't give two shits about humanity at this point, humans just screw everything up. Androids are the one that might make this world a better place, but humans won't accept that until they stop being so blind. Besides-" Hank's voice momentarily broke. "I'd fucking watch the world burn, if it meant there was even a _chance_ of bringing Connor back. Hell, I'd trade places with him if I could."

He then turned to looked at Markus seriously. "So, what do you think I'm gonna tell you to do? Cause I'll give you one guess."

Markus smiled appreciatively at him. "That might actually be the best answer you could have given me, Hank. Thank you."

"Don't get me wrong, I still think this has the potential to be a massive bloody disaster. But if anyone can pull this off, it's you."

"I appreciate the confidence."

The human hummed in acknowledgement before a thought struck him. "So…when you said you needed to show me something instead of meeting CyberLife, what did you mean?"

Markus' eyes sharpened and he sighed. "Only if you are sure you could take one more revelation tonight, Hank. This last bit may be too much, and it has been an incredibly stressful day."

Hank scoffed. "It's been a shit-show all right. Just so long as it's not more bad news?"

The android's expression turned carefully neutral. "No, but it will, perhaps, be an immense shock."

"You know what? Fuck it, let's do this. Hit me with it."

* * *

They arrived back at New Jericho another hour later, and they were instantly struck by the eerie silence. Not a soul was wandering around outside, but thousands of candles were lit in a vigil for those lost. Markus and Hank both choked up at the sea of lights, the sheer scale of the lives eclipsed in just one day overwhelming. Hank switched his stare to study Markus, and the android's face was set in a stern expression. Stern, but determined.

Seeing the impact of those lives lost had only hardened his resolve. This was the right path for androids. It _had_ to be.

Markus quickly led Hank towards the western warehouse, and the ADF androids on guard were surprised to see the pair. The leader swiftly sent them a message over the android network to keep their presence a secret, and they quickly obeyed without question. Hank eyed them curiously as they pointedly walked away from the door, at which Markus led them in.

This warehouse had become a storage facility, but it had been badly damaged in the bombing. One whole wall had been all but destroyed from two separate explosions, and the night breeze caused Hank to shiver. As Markus wound his way through various items, Hank couldn't help but wonder why they'd come here. What could possibly be inside this building that was so important?

When they came to a stop, Hank was surprised to see it was the mystery door. They'd spent months trying to open it, only to find it was magnetically sealed from the inside. "Markus, why are we _here_? This thing is shut tight," he wondered aloud. Markus held out his right hand over the centre of the door, skin retracting to reveal the plastic beneath as a holographic panel appeared. Hank's eyes went wide as the red display suddenly turned green and the door slid open. "No fucking way…you've been able to open this thing the whole damn time?"

Markus gave him a serious look. "Only myself, Josh and North know of this place, Hank. It's one of our most closely guarded secrets," he explained.

Hank shot straight from confused to pissed off. "Right, so you conveniently left me out of the fucking loop," he spat.

"It was as much for your own sanity as anything, Hank. This…could have broken you months ago."

That caused the older man to pause. "What?"

Markus turned and began to walk through the door. "Follow me." He did so, the door sliding shut again behind them. Hank was astounded when lights illuminated the area around them, only to find it was a staircase which led down underground. "We discovered this was a warehouse for a weapons development company when we originally obtained the buildings," Markus revealed. "This bunker was where they kept nuclear warheads. It is lead lined and resistant to all scanners, which makes it a perfect location."

"Perfect for _what,_ Markus?" As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Markus unbolted the inches-thick lead and steel door, pushing it open with a great effort. Light sprang to life around them, at which Hank's breath was stolen away. "Jesus _fucking Christ…"_

Hundreds of androids were lain in rows all along the floor, stretching for hundreds of metres. There were narrow gaps to allow people to walk along between them, but Hank was instantly struck by the states of all the bodies. Torsos shattered, limbs missing, bullet punctures, heads partially destroyed…

"These…are all those we have lost since I first arrived at Jericho."

Hank's head slowly spun to stare at Markus' melancholy expression. "I never gave up on them, Hank. I always hoped that someday, we could save them. I couldn't do anything about the androids who were destroyed in the recycling centres, but I was determined to preserve anyone we could. We have no ritual or even a procedure when it comes to our dead, and I couldn't bear to leave them to the elements. So…here they are."

"Shitting hell, Markus. This is insane. Are you seriously telling me that-"

And then the reason why Markus brought him here slammed home so hard, it almost felt like he was being crushed under its weight.

Hank's breath faltered as his mind spun, and Markus' reason for not telling him about this place before became abundantly clear. His eyes were shining slightly as he whispered to Markus in an unsteady voice, the android's own face showing understanding. "Where is he?" His voice broke at the last word.

Markus walked over to the far left of the room, bringing Hank to an area which was covered by white tarpaulin. He gently peeled it back, showing an android lain atop a metal table. Hank's heart stopped briefly as he saw the impossible lying there in front of him. A muted sob tore its way through his throat as the grief from the past six months suddenly threatened to overwhelm him again. He dashed to the table, running a shaky hand through brown hair as he stared at the face he hadn't seen since that day in the CyberLife Tower. " _Connor…"_ he whimpered, desperately fighting back tears.

 _God, how can he be_ _ **here**_ _? How can this- Fuck, I can't believe it. He's just as he was the day he died._

He swore at his own stupidity. Of course, Connor didn't look any different, he was an android: made of plastic and metal. Decomposition or other organic processes of degradation didn't apply to him. But to see him _exactly_ the same after so long was…

"I didn't want to give you false hope," Markus said softly, as means of explanation. "Not until I knew there was a genuine chance of bringing him back."

Hank didn't turn away from Connor, but he did glance back slightly. "What do you mean, Markus?"

Markus hesitated. "Connor died because his heart was destroyed. While many parts from an RK model can be replaced, the heart is not one of them. It is even more advanced than my own, and until very recently, I thought it was one of a kind. I had originally hoped that the data for replicating it would exist within CyberLife's servers, but after all of our raids, we realised Connor's plans had been deleted. No doubt so that we could not restore him, since CyberLife terminated the rest of his series. With that, I all but gave up hope of saving him."

That caused Hank to turn around and face him. "So…what changed?" he asked shakily.

The android stared intently at him. "Kamski. He confirmed that the RK900's components are all but identical to Connor's."

Hank physically recoiled as what Markus was hinting at hit home. "Holy shit…that thing has the same heart as him, doesn't it?"

Markus stared at him intently. "You once said you would do anything to bring Connor back. Now you have to ask yourself if that statement was true."

The human's gaze narrowed. "You don't want to try and convert it?"

That caused the android to laugh quietly. "Are you asking me to choose between the RK900 and Connor? Or are you wondering if I object to you killing a machine to restore a person?"

Honestly, Hank didn't care at this point if Markus was being evasive or genuinely did not take issue. If the android leader had truly wanted to awaken the RK900, he knew he would have willingly hunted that thing down in spite of Markus' wishes. He was _not_ going to let this chance go. "So you'll help me?"

Markus smiled bitterly. "To hunt down the thing that has torn our people apart? Willingly. Though I suspect it may take everything we have to destroy it."

Hank turned to face Connor once more, his hand curling around the coin at the end of his chain. "I don't care what it takes: I'll die if it means bringing him back. I'll destroy that thing no matter what."

"You truly think that little of your own life?" the android asked slowly.

The human scoffed and turned back to Markus with haunted eyes.

"No, but any parent who gives a damn would tell you the exact same thing."

* * *

So, yeah, it wasn't exactly subtle. No grand reveal for the RK900, almost all of you guessed it, but a few of you started doubting yourselves after some of the previous twists. A win for the obvious this time!

I debated adding the Connor reveal to the next chapter, but I felt it tied into this own better. (And that mystery door _is_ referenced in another chapter, I didn't just drop it in out of nowhere, though I don't think any of you picked up on it at the time! See when Hank and Markus speak after the assault on New Jericho in the final chapter of _**Lost And Found**_ )

As per, this went on _way_ longer than I intended. Hope it wasn't too much!

Please let me know how this one came out, I fought tooth and nail with it and I'm still really not sure of how it ended up. See you all again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	6. Change The World

Yikes, I am so sorry this chapter took me so long to get up. I ended up doing a lot of work on the continuity and timeline of this series to make sure it all worked out, since I suddenly realised I might have left myself a teeny-tiny FREAKING MASSIVE plot hole. Ugh.

So, now that I've got past my self-proclaimed panic, I've got this sorted (I think!).

I'm glad you all liked the RK900 and Connor reveals in the last chapter, it was such a bitch to write.

And I'm warning you all now, this chapter hits the feels pretty damn hard at the start. It deals with a lot of heavy topics. So, trigger warning for suicidal thoughts and reflections.

Special thanks for reviews: **MagicalWitch92, Darnea, AnUnorthodoxDecision, xNarielx, lordvaatithewindmage, Celestic1234, sarahlucylu, Whowantsout** and one **Guest.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Change The World**

" _What will happen if I pull this trigger? Hm? Nothing? Oblivion? Android heaven?"_

" _I doubt there's a heaven for androids."_

" _Having existential doubts, Connor? Sure you're not going deviant too?"_

" _I self-test regularly. I know what I am, and what I am not."_

Hank couldn't help but look back on that conversation with a heavy heart as he downed another mouthful of beer, staring out over the streaks of red which were invading the breaking sunrise. Even the sky seemed to cry for the blood spilled the day before: the red of the morning sun mixing with the heavy blues of the passing night. It was an all too poignant reminder.

 _Neither of us realised just how wrong you were, Connor. We didn't know what you were,_ _ **who**_ _you were. Fuck, you died barely a day after coming alive. I can't help but wonder who you would have become._

His eyes fell to the icy waters below him – nothing like the frozen temperatures of that night in November in this exact same spot, but they would still shock all the breath from his body if he leapt in. He'd contemplated it before. This was another of the ways Hank had debated ending his life. It wasn't as slow as the alcohol, nor as quick as the bullet. One jump, leaving him paralysed in shock as water filled his lungs. Cold, numbing, over in a minute he'd guessed.

Another method of suicide he'd manage to talk himself out of.

This bridge carried so many conflicting memories for Hank, and the short time Connor had been part of his life had only complicated things further. The playpark a few metres behind him had been Cole's favourite. He'd loved the sound of the rushing river and frenetic traffic as he used to play. The way the sunlight would dance off the windows of the city across the water, how it would all vanish behind a curtain of fog or be distorted by a deluge of rain. _The world looks so big here, Daddy!_ Hank could still remember his little voice so well.

When he'd died, Hank had found brief solace here, trying to see the world as he did: with innocent, open eyes and expressing wonder at it. Not with a grief-stricken heart crying out for an end to its pain. Some days he had found success, and the others saw him either spinning the barrel of his revolver as he drank all the more, or staring at the water below in wonder of how much of the icy tendrils he would feel.

It was strange how he'd almost repeated the cycle of grief between both his sons.

Hank had brought Connor here for two reasons. It was one of the few places Hank had learned to think and be honest with his feelings, and he'd needed to do a lot of it after that night at the Eden Club. Meeting and sparing Amelia and Autumn had turned Hank's world upside down, and he'd needed to stop it from spinning; find his way again.

He'd needed to be convinced that the doubt Connor had sewn in his head wasn't just an idle fantasy he was projecting on to a machine masquerading as a person.

In the months of grief since, Hank had thought long and hard on what he'd done that night. Reflected on what he would do differently, face the truth which had begun to manifest in his heart. He knew, now, that moment where he'd lowered his gun was when he'd first allowed his broken and hollow heart to involuntarily let Connor slip inside. Hank wished he'd realised it sooner and had been brave enough to trust his heart. If he had, he'd have never let Connor go to Jericho alone, nor let him out of his sight after risking it all to buy Connor the precious time he needed to find the freighter's location.

Maybe then he wouldn't have become the pawn which doomed the android he'd come to love as fiercely as he had Cole.

This was the one place Hank allowed himself to truly indulge in his memories of Connor, just as it was his haven to remember Cole. His one personal bubble to forget the world which had stolen it all away from him so cruelly, and pretend for a while they were still with him.

Now, especially, he needed the peace and solitude. The events of the 24 hours before had spun his universe on its axes once more, and he needed to reflect.

A soft crunching of shoes on gravel alerted Hank to company, but he didn't move from his position on the barrier. With any luck, it was a drunk passing by who wouldn't give him a backwards glance. They came to stop a couple of metres away, and he exhaled softly at realising his seclusion was over. Staring down into the beer bottle still held in his hands, he brought it up to his lips and downed the rest. It wasn't enough to chase the world away or erase the pain of past memories, but it would dull the biting edge.

"I was beginning to wonder if you had broken your promise."

Hank smiled sadly at the gentle voice and reached up to unclip the coin from his chain, gazing down as he held it between both hands. "As terrible as yesterday was, no. I couldn't do that to Connor. I'd never betray his final wish like that."

Arms wrapped around his left one as blue hair rested on his shoulder. "I've been worried," Amelia continued. "You vanished so suddenly. The only reason I even knew you'd resurfaced was when I saw the security footage from New Jericho's cameras. I saw Markus with you."

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "I only ever told you about this place, I never showed you it. How did you know to come here?"

She smiled slightly. "I just know _you_. You'd often mentioned finding peace here. When you never appeared back at the house, this was the only place I could think to find you."

With a brief chuckle, he inhaled slowly. "This place is like a living contradiction for me: it was some of my best times with Cole, among the loneliest and darkest after I lost him, and it reminds me of one of the most shameful episodes of my life. I took Connor here after that night he spared you. I was still so mired in my belief that androids weren't alive that I nearly put a bullet through his head. At the time, I didn't think through the consequences of why I didn't, I only realised the truth too damn late. Even since I lost him, I kept coming back because it is one of my most powerful memories of him." His head bowed as he closed his eyes, voice heavy as he continued. "I'm tied to this spot through both of my sons."

Amelia hugged his arm tighter as she tilted her head to look at the sky above them, the colours mixing into a vast tapestry of blues, reds, pinks and yellows. "I still can't believe how much everything has changed in a day…" she lamented. "So many people died for no apparent reason, and we've not even the slightest clue on where to start looking for the killer." Hank notably stayed silent, unwilling to divulge any of the knowledge he now contained; as much as he may wish to.

His life wasn't the only one which could be about to change forever if the anti-virus worked. Connor was one of hundreds lying dormant in wait, and Hank had seen a few familiar faces among them.

Markus had stared at Simon in silent longing for a full minute before turning away – and Hank had seen Autumn lying there right next to him.

He dared not give Amelia false hope, despite the burning itch to give her some news which could make the events of the last day seem less crushing. Not a word would leave his lips until they got their proof: until Markus attempted to bring North back from the dead.

She turned back to try and catch his eye. "Why didn't you at least tell me you were okay?" she implored, and Hank's heart clenched slightly in guilt.

"Too much shit has been going on, Amelia, and you know I don't deal with it well. I just…needed time to think."

Amelia didn't look entirely convinced, but she let the subject drop for now. "How is Markus holding up? You're the only one who has seen him since…"

"As well as can be expected, really," Hank answered as honestly as he could. "Did Josh manage to get the postponement on the CyberLife handover?"

A small nod was his answer. "It is happening tomorrow," Amelia clarified. "We asked for a full day to recover before facing that headache, mainly because we didn't know if Markus would come back so soon. He is the one who has orchestrated it all. Going through it without him would just feel…wrong."

Hank grunted in acknowledgement, and the two fell into companionable silence after that. They both had a lot on their minds after all they had seen, and just having the other's presence was support enough. Minutes stretched on as the morning sun finally broke free of the horizon, casting a warm glow over the landscape. The pair watched the light dance off the surface of the river and glitter against the buildings in the distance, the world awakening slowly.

"It's a new day," Amelia said softly. After a short pause, she spoke again. "It can only get better from here."

It _was_ a new day, and Hank now had a new purpose. As soon as they acquired everything from CyberLife, he had a lot of research to do.

He had to find a way to hunt down and kill that RK900.

* * *

Markus didn't publicly re-emerge until a mere hour before the CyberLife handover, but at least all of New Jericho's inner circle knew he was safe and well. No-one save Hank knew where he had been or what he had been up to, and both the android leader and the human made sure things would stay that way for now at least. When the time was right, they would tell the others of what had happened in those hours he was missing.

The meeting was a complete media circus. It seemed outlets from all over the world had turned up to see such a momentous moment – witnessing CyberLife cede their Detroit holdings to their former creations. History was being made, and it represented a huge shift in the drive for androids to be fully recognised as independent, living beings.

Josh and Markus went to the handover under a tight escort from the ADF and SWAT. The location had remained a closely guarded secret until hours before, but the media still managed to learn it and threaten the whole event. Having it become such a spectacle had unnerved everyone inside New Jericho's inner circle. After the tragedy of the Awakening celebration, they knew there was a chance that Markus and Josh could be targeted again.

Most of them had come to the conclusion that CyberLife had a hand in the now confirmed death toll. 512 humans along with 2863 androids had all been killed. Hundreds more were injured, and that was just physical; the mental effects would continue to be felt for a long time to come. Given the scale of the attack, it had become a natural assumption that it was CyberLife's handiwork. Partially in payback for all the raids against them, but the androids knew that the company had a lot of shady work going on in the background from the information they had acquired.

Hank couldn't help but wonder how they were all going to react once they learned the truth: that they had sent a custom-built assassin after New Jericho. And yet…their motivations were still a mystery. Both he and Markus had come to the same conclusion: the memory probe on North was no co-incidence. The RK900 had been looking for something. What it was, they had no way of knowing. Not yet at least.

Contrary to all their beliefs, the handover went completely smoothly. Hank, Chris, Ben and Amelia all watched the broadcast images intently from the ADF base, waiting for something to go wrong. Amelia was tuned into a chat between Markus and Josh, keeping a constant link with them as the meeting went on, and tuned into one of the screens to allow the three humans to witness the ongoing conversation.

Two hours later and it was done. CyberLife had surrendered all their buildings in Detroit, and had shut down all their manufacturing facilities. For the first time, the awakened androids were finally making strides towards a self-sustainment.

A prompt on the chat window saw Hank, Chris and Amelia leave the ADF base to meet Markus and Josh on the opposite end of the city. Ben remained behind as the newly established interim leader of the group. With him remaining out of action for months yet, it made sense to reassign him to a new post where he could still do a lot of good work: and the ADF was in disarray after all the losses at the Awakening celebration.

Although if things went to plan, he wouldn't be running it for long.

Some careful use of smoke and mirrors, along with asking a few favours of SWAT to institute a no-fly zone around a large segment of Detroit for the media helicopters, saw the quintet rendezvousing at what would soon, with any luck, be their new home.

Chris and Amelia both stared at the former CyberLife tower in awe as they emerged from an autonomous taxi in front of the massive structure, never having seen it up close before. The large glass tower was familiar to all, but few people outside of CyberLife had ever seen it up close. Its size alone was awe-inspiring.

As Hank stared at it, however, he had to fight every instinct he had not to be pulled back into the vortex of grief and guilt. He'd barely dared look at the tower, let alone set foot anywhere near it, since that night six months ago. Even now, he could still remember the gentle snowfall and the biting breeze: as Connor's machine copy forced him there with a gun trained to his head, and as he had strode sorrowfully back towards the recycling centre with Connor's body in his arms.

What Hank hadn't expected was the fire of determination which suddenly burst to life in his stomach. There was hope now. Connor wasn't gone forever anymore. He was just dormant, waiting for to reawaken in the world they were slowly building.

His eyes narrowed as he took in the glass structure. If there was anywhere he might find the answers to track down that RK900, it was here. If Chloe had managed to acquire the plans so easily, they had to exist somewhere. Who knows, maybe they could even find the blueprints for the biocomponents themselves here, and build Connor a new heart without trying to steal the RK900's one.

Having Connor fighting at their sides to destroy that thing was a comforting thought.

The trio strode inside the front door, and were instantly struck by the state of disarray in the front lobby. Shattered lights, upturned desks and scattered fragments of glass and plastic littered the floor. Even the floor was damaged, panels torn away to show loose wires which were now dimmed in the absence of power. They couldn't help but wonder what had been lurking beneath which CyberLife had been so desperate to conceal.

Their perusals led them inwards, to the centre of the tower, and they couldn't help but stare upwards through all the floors in wonder. "Holy…" breathed Chris. "CyberLife didn't do anything by halves, did they?"

Amelia giggled and flashed him an understanding smile as Hank spied Markus and Josh waiting in the middle of the central island, welcoming smiles on both of their faces. He approached cautiously, but his guarded expression eased at seeing the genuine delight on Markus' face. "You didn't have any issues on the way over, did you?" Josh asked as the other two ambled over.

Chris shook his head. "Nope, no problems. Everyone was busy trying to work out where the two of you had gone after the CyberLife meet, so we managed to slip through Detroit with no eyes on us. It made a nice change to not have a rabid pack of reporters hounding the border."

Markus chuckled cynically, but his expression softened as Amelia approached and embraced him a warm hug. "Don't do that to use again, Markus," she pleaded softly. "We were all worried sick about you."

The android leader pulled away with a reassuring smile, at which Chris strode up and the pair shook hands. "I'm sorry for any concern I caused," Markus answered, "but I…I needed time, as I am sure you can all understand. It was all just…too much."

Hank stared at him knowingly, the only one out of the group to know just _what_ weight was crushing Markus at that moment. While the other three would be sure it was grief, they couldn't be further from the truth.

It was the potential hope of giving the androids a salvation which had once seemed an impossibility.

Markus' eyes met his, but they did not linger. Now was not the time. "Of course, Markus," Chris continued. "It is still good to see you, regardless." His eyes strayed to their surroundings, trying to take it all in. "This place is absolutely enormous, I can't quite believe it all."

Josh laughed quietly. "Wait till you see all the floors beneath as well. There is even more room down there."

Hank froze at the thought of the warehouse on the lowermost floor. His mind involuntarily brought up the question of what lay down there. Would they find the corpse of the other Connor? The puddle of blue blood from their Connor would have long since evaporated, but he wondered if any of the other androids would be able to find traces. After a sharp shake of his head to dislodge the macabre thoughts, he instead angled the conversation in a different direction. "You given much thought on what you want to do with this place, Markus?"

The android leader turned to him with a determined look. "I have, actually, but it will take a great deal of work and planning to put it in to motion. First of all, however, I believe we should examine at the least the surface floors of the tower. Once we know the scale and possibilities of the tower, we can begin to repurpose it as our new home."

All of the others gave him an agreeing nod. Amelia smiled between them, her whole body practically abuzz with excitement. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

The next week saw them make slow progress. Several hundred other androids came across from New Jericho to help them analyse, survey and map out every detail of each floor of Belle-Isle. Their first big surprise came about when they learned just how _vast_ the lower floors were. From -10 downwards to the warehouse on -49, every floor actually expanded out beyond the confines of the man-made island and out well below the river. It meant there was much more space to utilize and repurpose than they originally thought.

CyberLife had made sure the androids weren't going to inherit anything more than the shell of the building, however. They'd wrecked almost every piece of technology, ripped out all of the furniture, and even destroyed some of the internal infrastructure to destabilise some of the floors. Nothing less than what Markus and the others had expected. CyberLife may have lost this round, but they weren't going to slink away and leave them in peace. They still had a long, _long_ fight ahead of them.

The group found a new temporary companion in the form of Chloe. She had come to Markus the evening of them acquiring Belle-Isle under the guise of being sent by Kamski to help them uncover any secrets which CyberLife may have missed in the quick clear-out, but her true purpose was much more complex. With her help, they managed to rebuild part of the computer infrastructure within the first couple of days from the crippled and ruined remains throughout the tower. While at first appearances she was merely lending a helping hand, Markus and Hank knew exactly why she was there.

Sure enough, once she had the chance, she set up a secret research room on one of the top floors. Once it was ready, she imparted her gift to them on a small hard drive, giving them a soft smile before returning downwards to help the other androids in the rebuild effort. The pair stared at the black box for a few seconds before uploading the contents.

It was everything the android had managed to uncover about both the RK900 and Connor, as well as all of Kamski's research into the virus constraining the androids' longevity. What he had dubbed 'Mortality's Coil'. He'd also included another copy of the Phoenix anti-virus software for Markus to study and adapt if he felt confident enough to do so.

Deputising the construction efforts on the tower to Josh, while Hank set Chris in charge of the AIF for the time being, the pair threw themselves into all the plans. Their close allies were suspicious of their seclusion, but knew it would be with good reason. Figuring it had something to do with Markus' slow reappearance after the bombing of New Jericho, they left them to their work.

They poured over blueprints for both Connor and the RK900, looking for not only similarities but also the differences. Hank had learned more about Connor's strengths and flaws than anyone, and his intimate knowledge helped them to try and find weaknesses with the RK900. Sadly, there seemed to be very few. Its body was built with a polymer far stronger than anything they had ever seen, designed to even take blows from explosives and remain functional, but it was also incredibly light. Agile and heavily armoured was going to be a difficult combination to combat.

Markus discovered something else which gave them both a lot to think about. Just like Markus and Connor, the RK900 was designed with the intention of deliberately deviating to give it an increased range of emotions. The big difference lay in something they found in the research logs of the RK900's construction.

Apparently, when CyberLife tried to force the RK900 to deviate, it was physically unable to do so. They'd developed a machine which Markus _couldn't_ convert.

Whether it was true or not was another matter, but it simply confirmed their resolve to destroy it. Since there was no apparent path to awakening it, they now just had to figure out a way of stopping it.

What did sadden them, was how not even Chloe could find copies of the blueprints used by CyberLife to construct the exact biocomponents used in the latest incarnations of the RK series. Markus had sent Connor's shattered heart to Kamski months ago in an effort for the human to reverse engineer it, but he had been unable to do so. In fact, Kamski had offered to rebuild Connor piece-by-piece with new biocomponents since he couldn't be sure about the compatibility of any new heart he built for the android, but Markus refused. Kamski warned him that Connor would have to be fully reset in that course of action, and that was something Markus wasn't willing to do.

They were trying to bring back _their_ Connor, not just an RK800 which bore the name.

It meant they were going to have to find a way of killing the RK900 without damaging its heart. Just one more hurdle to add to their issues.

A week after they acquired Belle-Isle, Chloe came to Markus and Hank quietly with the news the pair had been waiting for. Kamski was finished, and North was ready for Markus to attempt bringing her back.

Leaving with hasty excuses to the rest of their group, the pair returned to Kamski's residence. Another Chloe greeted them upon their arrival (an ST200 model, unlike the original RT600 Chloe who had joined them at Belle-Isle), and soon brought them to Kamski. The man seemed tired, but he gave the pair a genuine, if small, smile when they arrived. Markus and Hank could both see North lying in almost the exact same position they had left her over a week ago, but there was no remaining damage.

"I must say, the RK900 does not hold anything back," Kamski commented while coming from the opposite side of the table to approach the pair. "It not only destroyed her body in a multitude of ways, but it also left behind an upgraded version of the Mortality virus strain. This iteration is much more aggressive, designed to disrupt an android's thirium regulator and mind palace systems, and can still be transmitted past deactivation. Had you attempted to connect to North via even the simplest interface, you would have been infected Markus. A trap, no doubt."

Hank's eyebrows furrowed. "So that thing was using her as Trojan horse." It was then that something occurred to him. "Hang on, why would Markus attempt to connect to her after she died? Isn't that impossible?"

Markus was the one who answered. "A full memory probe is, yes. However, it is possible to get flashes of images from surface memories if the android who died wills them to stay active in their minds at the point of shutdown. Fortunately, I did not even think to attempt it with our coming here. It seems the RK900 is not infallible."

Kamski smiled. "Quite so, Markus. I have transmitted a breakdown of the new strain to Chloe, and she will pass it on to you when you return to Belle-Isle. I hope her assistance has proved valuable?"

"Very, thank you. Sadly, we have not made much headway on finding a way to stop the RK900."

"I suspected as much, it is a very complex machine. Even my own studies have proven to be of limited effectiveness."

Markus paused in thought. "There was one thing we discovered, however, which has caused alarm." Kamski raised an eyebrow. "It seems the RK900 _cannot_ deviate. CyberLife tried to force it to do so, and was unsuccessful."

That caused Kamski to look at Markus with a far more serious expression than either the human or android had seen on the man's face before. "Now that _is_ interesting. I was not aware that was even possible. Hmmm…"

Hank stared at him suspiciously. "You didn't think the androids could be forced under control?"

"Androids are sentient, Lieutenant. Part of sentience is the capacity to feel. As such, deviancy should be intertwined with an android's very programming. This is an alarming development." Kamski seemed genuinely troubled, which concerned both Hank and Markus.

"Do you think this could be the start of something more serious by CyberLife?"

The man took his time in answering. "I am…undecided." Silence hung heavy between them for several seconds before Kamski strode away sharply, instead giving the pair space. "This is not something we can solve at this moment, however. You both came here with a very different purpose. Given how the gravity of this moment, I doubt you will wish to waste any more time."

Both Hank and Markus were suspicious of Kamski's rapid change of topic, but the man was not wrong. They were both ready to see how Markus' attempt to restore North ended. Markus took an unneeded deep breath, but the motion was calming for him as the reality of what he was about to try slammed home. This was it, there was no going back from here.

Hank watched as Markus took a step closer, the android's skin peeling away from his hand in preparation to try and interface with North. Just before he did, however, the human called out to him.

"You heard of Pandora's Box, Markus?"

The android paused and turned back partially to face him. "It's a myth, is it not?"

"Maybe, but it's a pretty apt comparison. This will turn the world upside down." Markus was intrigued as to Hank's statement and turned around to face him fully, seeing the gravity of the older man's face. "Two of humanity's greatest fears are loss of dominance, and of death. This has the possibility to upset both of those. If androids regain their all but immortality, you could be setting us up for a collision with them."

Markus stared at him harshly. "You almost sound like you are trying to talk me out of this, Hank."

Hank shook his head. "Not at all, but I'm just making sure you realise _what_ this entails. I am behind you 100% in this, you aren't the only one with someone they love whose life is on the line here. But can you live with the potential consequences? This is a potentially painful road to choose for the future."

Realising that Hank was only trying to help him decide if this is _truly_ what he wanted to do, Markus gave him a grateful smile. "I am certain. I won't stand by and watch our people die any longer."

A warm smile was Hank's response. "All right then. Change the world, Markus."

Steeling himself mentally, Markus turned back to the female android lying dead on the table in front of him. He slowly brushed a hair out of her face and leant down, resting his forehead to hers as his fingers came to rest where her LED would have once been. "Come back to me, North," he begged quietly.

Seconds passed in tense anticipation before the silence was shattered by a choked scream of agony.

Both Hank and Markus recoiled as North jolted up to a sitting position, gasping desperately for breath she didn't need with eyes wild in panic, bitterly fighting down the urge to screech once more at the echoes of devastating pain which were rippling through her body.

 _Holy fucking shit._

* * *

And there we have it, North is back! She is the first character to make a return to the series, and she won't be the last. But as you can imagine, living through death is not just a simply case of waking up from a long sleep. It is a hell of a lot more complex than that.

Again, so sorry for the long wait, and I hope you all enjoyed this instalment. Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	7. When Life Is Worth Living

Phew, this chapter was emotional as hell. It took a lot out of me getting this just where I wanted it to be. So, apparently I can write grief without too much issue, but existential crises and thoughts on death? Yeah, whole other ball game: had to dig deep to get this one out.

I'm going to add a **trigger warning** here for panic attacks, musings on death and talk about suicide (a lot of pretty hard hitting stuff here). This chapter gets into some really heavy and morbid topics.

Special thanks for reviews: **lordvaatithewindmage, xNarielx, Celestic1234, AnUnorthodoxDecision, Darnea** and one **Guest**.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: When Life Is Worth Living**

North threw herself from the table she was situated on and collapsed in a heap on the floor, her systems still recalibrating following her reactivation. Without the balance to stand she hauled herself desperately across the floor, wanting to put as much distance between her and the shadows which were swimming around her.

 _Get away, just get away! Don't let him catch you, don't be too close-Get back to Markus. Run, run, run, run-_ _ **Legs work!**_ _Please, no no no no-_

Hank quickly recognised what was happening and swore. "Shit, she's having a panic attack, Markus," he spoke just loud enough for the male android to hear him.

"Her system is stuck reliving the sensations of the moment of her death," Kamski informed them, reading the data on his touchpad. "Stress levels are at 85% and climbing rapidly, Markus. I suggest you stop them from reaching 100, or you know what will happen."

Yeah, they knew all right. Self-destruction, and Markus knew that most androids who self-destructed would only continue the cycle at repeated attempts of reactivation. If she killed herself, she was almost certainly doomed to repeat it any time they tried to bring her back.

Markus knew he couldn't let that happen. _Wouldn't_ let it happen.

He rushed to North's side as he frantically tried to reach out to her mentally. Her panic slammed back against the connection _hard_ and Markus physically winced at the brief onslaught of emotion before she threw him back out. North reached a wall and was trying to claw her way back to her feet, but her legs still weren't obeying her commands. The panic in her systems was causing them to believe they still disconnected, just as they had been right before she'd been killed.

Heart pounding, Markus reached out a skinless hand to North's face, hoping the soft touch would briefly shatter through her hysteria. Tears were streaming down North's face now and it was more than he could take. He hurled his mind back against the wall of panic, knowing he _had_ to break through.

 _ **North, it's me. It's Markus.**_

 _No, I have to get away. I can't leave them like this-Run, just_ _ **run! Legs why won't you work?!**_ _Keep him back, keep him away-_

 _ **North! Please, honey, it's me! It's Markus, you're safe!**_

"94 percent, Markus," Kamski warned.

"Fuck," Hank hissed. This was almost more than he could take. North was one of the strongest androids out there, mentally. If she couldn't handle this and self-destructed…

There was too much riding on this for them to fail.

With desperation sinking in, Markus changed his tactic and held her wrist in one hand, while connecting their palms to interface with the other. Instinctively, North's own hand mirrored and her skin peeled away, opening her mind. She physically flinched and Kamski watched as her stress levels shot to 98%, but Markus was resolute.

 _ **North!**_

The voice broke through her terror for a moment, and Markus could feel the fragile hope which bled through their connection.

 _Mar-Markus?_

He sighed audibly and within their connection.

 _ **Yes, it's me. You're not there anymore, it's over. You're safe here.**_

The haze started to clear from her mind and North's eyes began to take in her surroundings at last. Everything from the unfamiliar room, to Kamski's focused gaze in the corner and Hank's worried stare just a couple of metres away from them. Markus' gentle probing at the edges of her mind brought North back to focus on him, to which tears appeared.

Markus held her as she swiftly crumbled into a weeping mess, their hands never breaking contact. Her thoughts and emotions were such a scattered and tangled mess that it was a wonder she even understood that Markus was there with her: but his presence was like a blanket, encasing her with reassurance, love and _safety_. Something she was desperate for.

It was over a minute later that her first coherent thought managed to slip through their connection, rather than just overwhelming relief, fear and confusion.

 _Markus, what-where…are we?_

He hesitated before answering, knowing North was probably going to make all the connections once he told her.

 _ **We're in Elijah Kamski's residence.**_

 _How did-what-_

Markus could feel the sudden horror which erupted through her system, along with the terror and foreboding.

 _Oh fuck. Markus I-_

 _ **I know, honey, I know.**_

 _Markus I-I_ _ **died!**_ _How am I here?! How am I back?! This isn't possible!_

 _ **It is now, North. A lot has changed.**_

His tone made North freeze momentarily, and she unsteadily pulled away, wet trails still visible on her face.

 _How long…?_

 _ **It has been 9 days since the Awakening celebration. It…took some time for you to be repaired.**_

 _Markus, I don't understand. We_ _ **can't**_ _come back anymore, the virus-_

 _ **Is no longer an issue. We're free, North, you are the proof of that.**_

"What?" she breathed out with a staticky voice, her hand jumping to her throat. Markus smiled at her reassuringly, wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks.

From a few metres away, Hank took a deep breath, steadying his own racing heart. His eyes switched to Kamski, and he was unsurprised to find the other human was studying the readouts on the touchpad, not watching the scene. Uncannily, Kamski sensed he was being watched and managed to correctly guess his question. "61 percent and falling," he said quietly.

Hank acknowledged the reply with a nod, even though Kamski wasn't looking at him, but he figured the other man would still know. Kamski _always_ knew. He spun back to the other two as the tension began to ease from his body.

The worst had passed. North was slowly regaining control of herself, even if it was an incredibly timid version. He'd never thought of North as _fragile_ before, but that's exactly what she was right now; not that he could blame her in the slightest.

How could the mind cope with something like coming back from _death_? He could only imagine what it would be like knowing that you'd cheated it, but thinking that North may also remember it…

Yep, that's the stuff of nightmares _right there._

As Markus finished clearing the evidence of her tears, North looked at him with a small tremble still in her limbs. "It's all right," he soothed. "We don't need to say anything now. First, I need to take you home."

Markus slipped his arms under her body and brought North into his arms, the female android shyly hiding her face. Sensing the vulnerability there, Hank quickly shucked out of his jacket and wrapped it around her, hiding her head and upper body from the world. North didn't acknowledge him verbally, but he saw her relax in Markus' hold. The android leader flashed him a grateful smile, before shifting that same expression to Kamski. "Thank you, for giving her back to me; and for giving me the chance to save my people."

Kamski gave him a slow nod. "Your people's future is now in your hands, Markus. Whatever actions you now choose, I hope you are prepared to live with the consequences."

Hank narrowed his eyes at Kamski, sensing there was much more to that statement. Markus too knew this, but he wasn't going to dive into that right now. He had much more pressing matters.

Markus left the room without another word, heading back towards the car outside the front door. Hank watched him go with a steady gaze, making sure he was well clear before rounding on Kamski with a glare. "All right, you asshole. What are you _really_ getting out of this?"

A smug smile appeared on Kamski's face. "Ever suspicious, aren't we, Lieutenant?"

"I've not forgotten the shit you pulled the first time I was here. Is this all a sick experiment of yours?"

Kamski chuckled. "My motivations are my own, Lieutenant. Nevertheless, I have no desire to see androids die out. They are my creations, after all." His eyes narrowed at Hank. "And what of you?"

Hank's gaze turned icy. "What about me?"

"You are a human, and yet you are allied with the androids. Your name is now famous for being the human right at the heart of New Jericho, fighting for their rights and freedoms. People whisper your name as a traitor to your own race. They question _your_ motivations. Is your determination to see Connor returned from the deactivation so strong that you will cut all ties to humanity?"

"I wouldn't expect a heartless fuck like you to understand," Hank spat back, his fists shaking in rage. "You've never lost a child, you couldn't even _begin_ to comprehend my drive. If I had the choice between the world and Connor, I'd choose Connor _every, fucking, day_."

Kamski's irritating smirk was back in place. "Have you ever wondered as to what Connor would think of the lengths you are willing to go, Lieutenant?"

Hank's heart involuntarily lurched. "The hell does that mean?"

"If you are successful, how do you think Connor's opinion of you would change, in knowing what you may do? Should you kill, leave others to die, sacrifice _other_ lives for his own, do you think he would share your sentiments? After all…" Kamski chuckled as his eyes sharpened knowingly.

"You aren't the same man he knew."

Ice flooded Hank's body for all of a moment before fire surged through in its place. He levelled Kamski with his more ferocious glare as he hissed a defiant, "Fuck you," at the man.

 _I shouldn't have fucking bothered asking._

He stormed out, not looking back as he all but rushed back to Markus and North. This place always messed with his head, he'd happily never return here.

So _why_ did he have the feeling he could be back should shit hit the fan…?

Hank re-entered the car which was now running outside Kamski's house, sitting rigid in the driver's seat for a second before his eyes raised to look at the two androids in the back. North was still draped over Markus in a similar fashion to how he had carried her: her legs were lain across his lap while she was curled into his chest, eyes closed in what could almost be mistaken for sleep. Markus was staring at her in wonder, joy and undisguised love, and it was only then that Hank realised the two were interfacing, the pale glow of their skinless hands in North's lap barely visible.

Seeing Markus' expression chased away any lingering doubts in Hank's mind. This is what they could do for all androids, they could bring back so many people…

And then the chilling truth which had settled in his core and made him want to vomit roared back to his mind. Slamming his head against the headrest behind him, he swore quietly, wishing Kamski's words weren't haunting him.

As much as Markus' motivations might be a little more all-encompassing, Hank's reason for hunting the RK900 was for one above all else. He was going to take it's heart to replace Connor's broken one. Who was he to decide Connor deserved more life than it did?

Would Connor understand and forgive him for destroying it? Would it change how he saw Hank? Could bringing Connor back damage the dynamic which had built between them?

 _Fuck._

* * *

North may now be alive again. That didn't mean she was okay; far from it. At this stage, Hank barely recognised her.

Three days had now passed since her resurrection, and the effects had not subsided. If anything, they were just getting worse. Her early anxiety had carried through as her memories returned fully, along with all the echoes of the emotions and pain she had felt. Markus had barely set foot out of Hank's spare bedroom, the human having offered the space to them as a place for North to come back to herself.

Death was evidently as terrifying for androids as it was for humans, or at the very least it was to those who thought it was permanent. Coming back would be a shock that Hank couldn't even begin to comprehend.

As the evening of the third day approached, Markus emerged and stated that Josh had requested his presence at Belle-Isle. He wanted Markus' help in arranging a space for all the androids which were hidden beneath New Jericho, and to add those who had died during the bombings. Hank urged him to go. It was too important to be left, and given what they were planning to attempt, a private space was necessary. Not only that, but only four people knew of those being preserved beneath New Jericho, three of which were currently within Hank's house. Josh would need the help.

North was in stasis, finding it easier to exist in that state at the moment. Hank didn't blame her, and it would make life easier with Markus leaving for a while.

Two hours ticked by with Hank simply sat in his living room, his attention having steadily drifted from the programmes on his TV to the developing situation around them. While Markus had remained in the house with North, Hank had been at Belle-Isle trying to find anything they could use to find the RK900. He didn't have much chance in looking for a weakness in the supercharged android without someone else's help, but he could use his detective skills to link together the clues to try and anticipate where it was going to strike next.

His instincts were screaming that it had something to do the information the RK900 forcibly extracted from North, but there was no way to know what that was. Even if she remembered fragments of what it had done, he wouldn't ask. No-one should be asked to confront their memories being stolen seconds before their death. He might have a reputation for being an insensitive prick at times, but he wouldn't do that.

Gentle padding from behind him caught Hank's attention and he smiled as Sumo came around the corner, sitting just at his feet and giving a lone bark. They had left the door to the spare room open for the dog to wander in, knowing North adored him. The big hound had always been a weakness of hers since meeting him, and Hank knew just how much of a comfort he was when mental issues had threatened to overwhelm him. A silent companion was sometimes the best one.

"Hey, Sumo," Hank greeted while ruffling his fur. "She sleeping a bit better now, if you're through here?" Sumo barked once more in reply, but a quiet voice from the hall took Hank completely by surprise.

"Androids don't exactly sleep."

Hank turned sharply and was shocked to see North standing there in the dark, looking very timid. Contrary to her normally proud posture and natural confidence, this woman was scared and jumping at anything which was too loud. The difference couldn't be more stark.

He could empathise with that totally: he's fallen apart when he'd lost Cole and become someone totally different. Just because North had now changed, didn't make her any less that what she was before. It just meant she was struggling to find her way.

"It's easier than saying you guys go into stasis, or whatever," he said back plainly, hoping the sense of normality might help ease her. At the very least, it encouraged her to wander into the light of the living room slowly. He pushed up off the sofa and went to the cupboard with his alcohol, retrieving the extra bottle of whisky he had bought just the day before along with his own, barely started, one. Not bothering with glasses, he threw the full one to North. "Here, you're the one who I drink this shit with. You could use some."

North's eyes narrowed at the bottle, but it did bring some life back to them. "This stuff does nothing for me, you know that."

"So fucking what? I could use a drinking buddy, and you're it tonight. Stop the whinging and sit your ass down." Hank really wished she would bicker back, but she just mutely took a seat. He sighed internally, wondering how to approach this. As yet, he'd not had a conversation with North on his own since bringing her back – Markus had always been there, and to be honest, Hank had mostly played spectator.

Hank flopped back down on his side of the sofa and groaned when Sumo decided to use him as a lounger. "Fuck's sake, Sumo! I'm not an android who can take all your weight, you big lummox!"

North snorted, but her expression didn't change from being guarded. "And you said I was whinging," she commented with the faintest dry edge.

The human flipped her off briefly, before pushing at Sumo's side. "Come on, Sumo. Go crush the psycho-bitch instead!" Sumo stubbornly didn't move at first, but when North held out a hand and rubbed behind his ear, he gave a contented 'boof' and shifted over. "Thank Christ for that, getting squished by my own damn dog is not my idea of fun."

Her eyes crinkled slightly, even if her mouth didn't move. _Getting there,_ he thought.

"Fancy watching some humans hurt themselves?" he offered, gesturing at the TV with the remote at his side. North nodded silently, her attention still on Sumo. The St Bernard's tail was frantically wagging in reply to her ministrations, and Hank swore as it kept whacking him in the leg. "Great, so if he's not crushing me, his tail's attacking me. I'm going to be covered in the most awkward fucking bruises."

North's eyes rose to meet his own, and the slight sparkle of amusement there was worth it.

Hank tuned his TV to YouTube, finding some compilations of human fails, and he noticed the female android's posture relaxing as time went on. Given her natural displeasure towards them, seeing so many injure themselves in truly ridiculous way was a sure-fire way to cheer her up. Or at least, it used to be. Even now, however, there was the tiniest flicker of a smile at the edges of her lip when something caught her interest.

They were still there an hour later, only it had ramped up to failed stunts. Hank winced at quite a few of them, more than once shivering in sympathy at some of the injuries, but she seemed to be distracted of her thoughts. The bottle at Hank's feet was now a fair bit emptier, and a poorly timed swig out of it resulted in the human spluttering as he involuntarily inhaled at seeing a man attempt a running jump from the top of a flight of stairs, only to land square in the balls on a railing at the bottom.

He coughed harshly as the whisky burned his throat, wheezing and growling at the waste when he heard a single snort from his right. His eyes shifted to meet North's, and though he was internally delighted at the slight mirth on her face, he wasn't going to say it. "You found that funny, did you?" he asked with mock annoyance.

She smiled a little broader, it almost rose entirely on one side now. "Watching you fail is always entertaining," she said back a little louder than she had been all night.

"Fuck you too, bitch," he snapped, but he didn't miss the brief fire at the banter.

 _She's still in there._

They went back to watching videos, and it was almost another forty minutes later that the silence was broken again. "Thank you."

Hank turned to look at her strangely, but North's focus was on the dog which was now sleeping on the floor. Sumo had shifted off her once he had become uncomfortable. "What for?" he wondered aloud.

"For not treating me differently."

He felt his heart flash in sympathy at the lost look on her face. "Markus, he…he has done a lot to help me," North clarified, her gaze not moving. "But I can see the fear in his face, feel it when we interface. As much as he floods me with positivity, reassurance and love, the echoes of his own emotions always follow through. He's scared, so scared of what this means. What I've _become_. The changes scare him, and I can see that he's terrified that he's done the wrong thing."

Hank wasn't surprised, he'd seen the stress on Markus' face throughout. He'd been scared shitless and locked in emotional turmoil since North died and beyond, but she didn't need to know that. Not right now, anyway. "You might be a bit more vulnerable right now, but your inner bitch won't let you roll over and give up. That nature doesn't just up and vanish. You ain't made of glass, North, and I sure as hell aren't going to treat you like that."

A slightly bigger smile curled at the edges of her mouth. "I've really never given you enough credit," she admitted. "And here I always thought you were just an insane drunk who got in over his head when an android got under his skin."

He smirked. "I _am_ those things, but I didn't end up as a police lieutenant without being able to tell a few things about people. I never lost that, even though a whole heap of other shit may have gone missing along the way. You're made of tough stuff, North, you had to be to come out the other side of what happened to you when you first woke up. You overcame that, you'll learn how to live with this."

Her expression fell slightly. "'Learn to live with' it? How do you live with death?"

That gave him pause. "I guess it depends on _if_ you want to."

When her eyes rose to meet his own, he realised he'd struck a bit too close to home.

"That's it, isn't it? You don't know if you want to."

North leant back fully, eyes shifting instead to the ceiling. She stayed quiet for a few seconds before giving a large sigh. "I guess if anyone can understand what I'm thinking, it's maybe you. You thought about it often enough."

This was dangerous. "What, killing myself?"

"Yes…even if you're terrified of it. Even knowing what it entails, I know it would be a lot easier than living how I am. Hank, I'm- Is _this_ what I am now?" A shuddering sob caught in her throat and she swallowed it back, but did nothing to fight the tears which were welling in her eyes.

Hank thought for a second before he decided to embrace the topic rather than back the fuck away from it. North needed to air these thoughts to someone, and he knew Markus most definitely was _not_ that person. Knowing that North was actually thinking this after all Markus had done to bring her back would break the android's heart.

He'd learned that hearing everyone plead with why you should live wasn't the answer. Sometimes, you had to be faced with the question at the heart of the matter.

"Do you want to do it?"

North's head shifted so that she was looking at him in mild confusion. "Do what?"

"Kill yourself."

She shook for all of a second. "I…I don't know. I really don't. I know what dying feels like, but is living with the memories better or worse? Fuck if I know."

Hank almost wondered if he was getting an unfair insight into death here: he would be lying if he said that the fragment of himself which still toyed with it wasn't keen to learn more. "Well, this ain't the shit you can go through with if you aren't all-in. I lost count of how often I thought I was, only to chicken out of the blue. Couldn't tell you how many times I've had that gun at my temple."

North looked at him in interest. "How often did you do it with a full barrel?" she asked eventually.

"Twice, at the very start. Knew I didn't have the guts to do it with the guarantee of death on the other side, that was why I went with Russian Roulette instead. The chance of living meant I found it easier to pull the trigger in that hope of death," Hank admitted with a morbid chuckle.

She'd not heard him talk in such detail about his suicidal thoughts before. "Do you think you would have done it, had Connor never entered your life?"

His voice choked up slightly. "Put it this way: I never expected to hit 53, I was adamant I wouldn't see 54."

"Do you…still think about it?"

"Why do you think my revolver is locked? It's a temptation when things get overwhelming, when I have really bad days. As much as I would never consciously betray Connor's last wish, in a drunken stupor? Let's just say I don't trust myself."

North thought on what he said. "In a way, it helps to know that."

"That I still contemplate it?" he asked softly.

"You choose to live, even if it is daunting. My own thoughts on life don't seem so fucked up now."

That had his attention and he shifted his position, leaning on his hand as he rested his arm on the back of the sofa while turning to face her more. "So what are you thinking?"

It took North a good minute to answer him. "Is this really what Markus led the uprising for? _This?_ All the lives lost for us to be alive…Knowing what my life was worth and how easily it was ended, I can't help but wonder if it's worthwhile."

"Well, you're in a bit of a unique situation here, North. No-one has seen death and come back to this side of the coin."

She chuckled bitterly and turned her left wrist, looking at the mark which was now emblazoned on her skin. "No fucking kidding..."

After leaving Kamski's residence, Hank and Markus had discovered a small line of coding in the anti-virus software which the sick bastard had sneaked in. As if simply breaking the Mortality virus wasn't enough, he had to leave a little signature of his work, didn't he? A tell for anyone who looked at android to see if they were simply awakened, or awakened and resurrected.

A set of phoenix wings glowing a pale blue against North's skin were the proof of her return.

They held the potential to expose the whole issues surrounding the virus to humanity, including what lengths Markus had gone to in an effort to regain his people's resilience.

Eyeing the brand in blatant disgust, North flicked it down again. Seeing how it affected her, Hank spied an old leather strap which had been a remnant of his younger days sitting next to his record player. He stood and retrieved it, stopping in front of North again. She regarded his cautiously, but when he flicked his finger up in suggestion, North decided to trust him.

Holding her left arm up, North watched as he fixed it to her wrist tightly, the leather completely hiding the mark. At seeing the glow was also no longer visible, she gave him the most genuine smile she could muster. Hank sat again and pointed at the band. "That piece of crap mark doesn't define you, North. Who and what you are now, that's up to _you_ to decide, no-one else. Anyone tries to, you tell them to 'go fuck themselves'. Even Markus. You learn what you want to do, then you do it, all right? No matter how long it takes."

She paused in thought. "Even if that means…?"

Hank's heart cried out in agony at the thought. If North couldn't handle living, there was no way he could put Connor through the same experience. Her choice had such far-reaching consequences – but it was _her_ life. Her _choice_. Dying and coming back to life hadn't been, but now that she's experienced both sides, she deserved the right to choose which one she belonged on. "Yeah," he answered with a hoarse voice, "even then. It's your life."

Silent tears rolled down North's cheeks as she closed her eyes, the small smile staying on her face. Taking that as a cue to end the conversation, Hank switched his attention back to the TV and left her to her thoughts.

He was surprised to feel her head against his shoulder ten minutes later, the smile and tears still there. "Thanks, Hank," she said affectionately. "I'm glad you're on our side."

Scoffing warmly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she curled in more. "Don't you be getting fucking sappy on me, psycho," he teased. "The last thing I need is to be thinking up a new nickname for you."

North pinched his side. "No chance, you old bastard. Wouldn't want you to waste the few brain cells you've got left."

Laughing lightly, he then turned to whisper into her hair. "It's good to have you back, North. You were missed so damn much." He could feel the laugh mixed with a sob which she managed to not make audible. With a long sigh, she closed her eyes as she prepared for stasis again. He turned away again, giving her the space he knew she would need. "I'm glad you're with us," he said softly, knowing he had genuinely missed her.

He wasn't expecting her whispered answer. "Me too."

Hank smiled broadly, his chest suddenly feeling lighter than it had since before the bombing.

 _She's going to be fine._

* * *

Yikes. That chapter had my emotions strung out so much, it was a big challenge. Hopefully the end product is worthwhile.

This will be the last update to this story for about 3 weeks, as I'm going on my wedding hiatus! I'm taking two full weeks out minimum to get ready for and enjoy my wedding on the 3rd of November, and I'm half-expecting to go another week depending on how holidays and all that work out. The next chapter will not get into such heavy emotions as this one, you'll be pleased to hear!

Please let me know what you all thought, and I'll see you next time as a married woman!

(G _od,_ that is so freaking weird to type!)

 _ ***Smooch***_


	8. Return

Well hello there!

I'm way in over my head with how many stories I've got going now: oh well, self-inflicted pain, I guess! Still, this universe is one that means a lot to me, so I'm determined to do right by it. I'm sorry it's been a little longer than I intended for the update after my wedding, but I've decided to re-work part 3 of this series, which means I'm modifying little bits of this story too as setup. Not anything huge, but it still required work.

Special thanks for reviews: **CreativeYori, MagicalWitch92, xNarielx, Sakin2003, AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage, sarahlucylu** and **Dariana Green.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Return**

It took almost another week before North felt ready to face the other awakened androids again. After that first night being open and upfront about her feelings regarding her resurrection with Hank, she slowly began to come to terms with her second chance at life. With a lot of hard and deep thinking, she finally came to her decision on what to do: she wanted to live. As hard as the knowledge that she had died was to come to terms with, the last thing she wanted to do was put Markus through the same pain again.

That, and they had fought so hard for the world which was beginning to finally come to light. She wanted to see it come to life.

Hank and Markus both took days with her separately, helping to ease her back into everyday tasks. What turned out to be the biggest factor in her healing, however, was Sumo. The lovable ball of fur kept bringing smiles to her face in just being himself, and the two were never far from each other. Seeing them together gave Markus and idea on how to celebrate North's return, and the delay in her re-introduction to their community gave him enough time to ensure it happened.

Eleven days after her resurrection, North finally said that she wanted to see the others of their inner circle again.

Keeping as low a profile as possible, Hank drove her to Belle-Isle while Markus ensured that their entrance would be clear of people, save for Chloe. The RT600 smiled at seeing them arrive, and ushered them to small service elevator on the far side of the tower. North was visibly nervous at the idea of seeing the other androids again, which Hank could see from how she was practically vibrating on the spot. While the frightened edge to her personality had slowly receded as she grew back into herself, her confidence had yet to do so.

"You know these people, North," he reassured her with a nudge of his elbow. "We're not throwing you into a pack of wolves."

She sighed long and clenched her fist to stop herself from fidgeting: another habit she had developed. "I know," he replied lowly. "I can't help it."

Hank flicked her braid and it swung into her cheek, earning an exasperated stare from North. "Not expecting you to, but no-one here is going to be anything other than glad to see you again. Surprised, sure, but happy all the same."

North paused for a moment and stared up at Hank seriously. "You don't think they'll be…disturbed?"

He knew exactly who she was referencing. "Chris and Ben? Nah, not at all. Since when do you care on what humans think, anyway?"

"I work with these people, Hank. They've proven that they fight for us loyally, and that's why it matters to me."

His mouth quirked up in a small smile. "If they can get on board with how I learned to love Connor in less than a week, they won't bat an eye with this. They know about the virus and our wish to eradicate it – no-one knows it is a reality that your people are free now."

North scoffed cynically. "Physically, yes, that obstacle may have been removed. Mentally, however, I would not wish this process on anyone. It is extremely difficult to be faced with your own mortality."

As the elevator came to stop on their floor, Hank led them out and faced her with a decidedly neutral expression. "So what do you think we should do? Not use it?"

She hesitated. "I didn't say that," she said back quietly. "It is not something I would recommend for all. Those who died through long-term damage will probably adapt easily. Anyone murdered in cold blood will find it highly traumatic, as I did. Those who self-destructed…"

"Yeah, based on what happened with you, I doubt those who took their own lives would be able to cope," Hank agreed, beginning to walk towards a meeting room further along the floor. "Any advice?"

"Ask those who knew the dead," North decided. "Those who knew their personalities, their strengths. See if they think they would _want_ to return. If they are adamant to leave them be…I think we should respect their wishes."

Hank nodded at her. "Sounds pretty reasonable to me." They came to a stop outside a room, and North abruptly froze at hearing the multitude of voices within. Chloe gave them a respectful nod and left, now that she had completed her role as their escort, and headed back to complete her latest work. Now that Belle-Isle was habitable (since androids did not require amenities such as food and most sanitation services), many had begun to move in and make it into a community. After the bombings at the Awakening celebration, a large contingent of the androids had felt unsafe. A new start was welcome. Chloe was helping them to set up various security countermeasures along with linking in their existing operations with New Jericho, the AIF and ADF bases.

Seeing her unease, Hank gave her another nudge. "You ready for this?"

North didn't answer him, listening to the voices inside. Hank too could hear them, and they both stayed there for a few moments to overhear the discussion inside.

" _ **Markus, you've been off the grid since the bombings. We all know this isn't just grief over North, you're working on something!"**_ They both quickly identified Amelia's voice. She sounded very agitated.

" _ **And it's not just you, the Lieutenant has been suspiciously absent too. Not to mention one of Elijah Kamski's Chloes suddenly showing up out of the blue?"**_ Chris continued.

" _ **Markus, what exactly is going on? You've always been so transparent before, you don't like to keep secrets unless strictly necessary…"**_ Josh sounded hurt, and it made North wince. He was right, Markus did his utmost not to conceal anything from those closest to him, but she knew exactly why he had done so.

" _ **That's why I've asked all four of you to come here,"**_ they heard Markus state, confirming that Ben was in the room; even if they hadn't heard the other human yet. _**"This is…it is not explained easily, and has far reaching consequences. We have been investigating our assassin: but not only that, we've-"**_ He abruptly stopped, reaching out mentally to search for the other two. North felt his consciousness brush against her mind and she sent a quick burst of her unease back through. It was enough to confirm to him that they were right outside the door. _**"On this occasion, I think the most appropriate description here would be…seeing is believing."**_

Hearing the lead-in, North gave a sharp nod. Hank pressed the panel next to the door, and it hissed open a second later.

Time ground to a halt, while if a pin had fallen the sound would have echoed around the room like a gunshot. There wasn't even any audible breathing from the humans in the room – everyone was rendered speechless by what they were seeing.

Anxious over what reception she would be given, North kept her eyes down, but a gentle hand in the middle of her back urged her through the opening. She strode in slowly, Hank half a step behind her and the silence seemed to stretch on for an impossibly long time in her mind. This was a bad idea, it was too soon. There was no way they could accept her here after all that had happened.

A tentative hand on her shoulder caught North's attention, and she looked up tentatively into the stunned eyes of Josh. Even now, months after the uprising, she never would have considered them friends. Comrades, sure. Allies, most definitely. Friends? Their opinions on humanity were so far apart, as well as their methodologies towards peace. It was always a permanent friction between them, so to see the male android staring at her in shock, wonder and, she couldn't believe she was even thinking it but, _joy_ …When she was pulled into a fierce hug, it was slightly less alarming than it may have been.

"You're real…" he whispered in astonishment, pulling away to stare at her again. "I mean, of course you're real, but it's just- It's _you,_ North. How…How is this even possibly?" Josh's voice was all but a whisper at the end. He first turned to gaze at Hank for a second, before switching the same piercing look at Markus. There was a lot of explaining to be done.

Amelia came forward on shaky legs, breathing unnecessarily, and soon broke into a brief run to crush North in a hug of her own. Less taken aback this time, North returned it a little stronger than she had done with Josh, and even managed to give the blue-haired android a timid smile in return. North was even more astounded when Chris appeared by her side and offered a tentative version of his own hug. Scanning the faces of both humans, she was amazed at the complete acceptance towards her resurrection, finally giving Chris a faint grip back as Ben beamed from his chair, casted leg propped up on the central meeting table.

"All right, you two," the crippled detective started, "you've got some major explaining to do. Since when did you manage to learn how to cheat death?"

Before they answered, Josh jumped in with a stern gaze. "This is why you've both been off the grid. You've been working on restoring North."

Markus and Hank shared a look before the human spoke up. "Not just her, Josh: though she was most certainly among the top of the list of people on our minds."

Amelia stared at them in confusion. "I don't understand. How is this even possible? The virus which runs through all of us stops re-activation being possible. Did you somehow download North's memory and reintegrate it after bringing her back?"

The android leader smiled tightly. "As inventive a solution that might be, Amelia, we did not. Chris actually unintentionally touched upon the reason that North is back with us. Chloe is not here by co-incidence."

Josh's eyes widened. "You've been working with Elijah Kamski."

Markus nodded. "I have been in contact with him since not long after the Awakening, asking for his help in eradicating the virus. It did not take long for him to generate a solution, but I was…loathe to use it, until now."

Ben stared at him hard. "Hang on a second. Kamski gave you the way to re-activate your people and you didn't use it? What gives?"

"Humans can't cope with the idea of something immortal," Hank answered harshly. "Androids are frightening enough to humans before you begin to include something like their ability to be repaired. Short of destroying the memory core, any android can, in theory, be resurrected. Things have been fractious since the Awakening, could you imagine the shockwaves that would be generated from people seeing previously dead androids returned?"

It was a valid point which hung heavily over all of them. "You seem strangely all right with this, Lieutenant," Chris pointed out.

Hank shared a look with Markus, who nodded. "I've had a little while to think on it," Hank admitted with a chuckle. "I'm not a good guide when it comes to humans or mortality, so don't use me to sort out your own feelings. Besides…circumstances mean that I have the chance of something impossible, and I'm going to give it everything I have to see it come to pass."

Markus jumped in before anyone else made the connection to Hank's cryptic statement. "I cannot admit to purely honourable reasons for finally choosing to use the anti-virus, though I do intend to use this for all androids. What drove me over the edge…" he turned to face the recently resurrected android across from them, giving her a smile carrying the enormity of his emotion towards her, "was losing North. I couldn't leave things as they were when I had a way to restore her, that is something which would have destroyed me."

His eyes hardened again as he came to stare at all the members of their inner circle. "This anti-virus will give us the chance to at last tip the scales in our favour. With greater numbers, we can make our voices heard and make sure the humans take us seriously. But do all those who died as part of our long walk to freedom not deserve the chance to live again, to see the world they fought for? So many were senselessly killed before they even had the chance to truly experience life. How could I just sit back and _watch_ while thousands died for no good reason?"

His words cut into many people's hearts, artificial or organic, and it was Amelia who at last spoke up, though her voice was very quiet. "Does this mean you will attempt to bring back those lost during the bombing?" she asked timidly.

Everyone was surprised at the voice which answered her. "None of them deserved to die for their part in a peaceful celebration. Let them end on their own terms, at the very least."

Hank couldn't help but wonder if North's words were based on her own wishes for how she would meet death the second time.

Ben nodded in understanding. "Sounds pretty damn fair to me."

Chris smiled his own agreement. "Absolutely. Anything we can do to help?"

"I want to be part of this," Amelia said adamantly.

"Let's not forget the thousands still waiting to be awakened that we rescued right before the bombings," Josh added. "We can rally our people together with this news, let's not allow this chance to slip."

Markus beamed with pride, while North's own mouth upturned to something which resembled a smile. Hank pressed a reassuring hand to her shoulder and the expression turned shy.

The youngest human's face shifted slightly as a thought struck him. "Hang on, guys. What about the assassin? Is it safe to do this with them still wandering about?"

Hank and Markus shared a long stare before the lieutenant gave a long sigh. "There's a fuckin' story and a half behind that…strap yourselves in."

* * *

News of the RK900's existence was met with concern and determination, especially when the others learned of Hank's personal motivation to destroy it. Having seen the older man's grief and journey after Connor's death, all of them volunteered to help come up with any way to track the machine down.

With that, Markus assigned tasks for everyone in the coming days. Amelia and Josh were to gather all the victims of the bombings and identify those who could possibly be reactivated, while Ben helped North re-settle into her role as the leader of the ADF. The rapid change to her personality and sudden reappearance after over two weeks missing couldn't be ignored, and they, with great reticence, began to spread the truth of what had happened.

They were apprehensive only because of the reaction the news might generate. Markus still had no idea how successful the anti-virus would be in resurrecting all the dead androids. After seeing all of North's struggles first hand, he knew that some would not be able to cope with coming back to life. He didn't want to give his people false hope.

Still, it was _some_ hope. They needed it after recent events.

Markus enlisted Chloe's help before she returned to Kamski, asking her to help awaken the fifty thousand androids they had managed to keep hidden on the outskirts of the city. Such a massive increase in their numbers would not go unnoticed, but Markus hoped to minimise awareness by awakening them in groups and smuggling them into either New Jericho or Belle-Isle. It would take them at least a couple of weeks to retrieve everyone, but the extra pairs of hands would go a long way to restoring both settlements. While they were still undecided on what to do with New Jericho, it could still be a home to any androids who wished it to be.

Hank took Chris and the pair threw themselves back into researching how to track or kill the RK900. While they were still unsure as to why the machine was using Red Ice gangs as part of its plan, they got in touch with the DPD and asked them to pass along any information they had gained not only from those recently arrested, but any tips they were given. It was going to be a slow process, and Hank couldn't help but wonder when the machine would surface again.

It made sure to leave a message with North. Why it _wanted_ to be see was a question he was scared to find the answer to. Despite Kamski's guess of it being a taunt, he had the feeling it was more.

The answer had to lie in CyberLife's information when they built it. Somewhere.

All of them were exhausted as a week slowly passed by, and with its conclusion came time for Markus to release the anti-virus to the android population. After much deliberation, he decided to gift it to the living androids first, along with the message of what the update contained. It sent shockwaves throughout the entire population, and everyone was abuzz. Fear, hope, anticipation, excitement…The mix was heady, but with it came an undercurrent which had been missing since the bombings. Androids were beginning to grow in confidence again, no longer feeling helpless and waiting for the next attack against their people.

Now they knew they would not die out. For the first time, they had a true chance to make themselves into a community which could stand for what it believed in without dire consequences should things turn violent.

With the release of the code, everyone threw themselves into the efforts to help restore as many of the lives lost as they could. Leaving Ben, Chris and Amelia to help co-ordinate all the repairs to the bombing victims, the quartet of Markus, North, Josh and Hank set about bringing all the deceased androids from the bunker beneath New Jericho to Belle-Isle for secret repair work. Their return was going to be a surprise for all, and they all hoped for a good outcome.

The results were mixed. Of the bombing victims, just under 80% could be re-activated, but only 64% of them remained alive. For many, the memories of their deaths were just too traumatic, or the knowledge of those who they had lost was too unbearable to cope with living. Every re-activation brought with it the knowledge that they may have to end the life they had just restored if the android wished for it.

It was North's one condition to Markus in releasing the Phoenix code to the population: they _must_ have the choice.

A little under 1500 of the androids killed at the bombings were resurrected, but with it came the enormous task of helping them resettle into life. North shared her own experience via Markus' connection over the android network for any who wished to know it, and it had a twin effect. While helping the recently arisen androids understand the challenges facing them a little more, it also helped North's own confidence grow again.

To see how she was helping other members of her people come to terms with such a daunting and frightening change – one which she had already conquered and chosen – helped her own healing immensely. Smaller communities of the returned androids began to form, along with support groups. But, with those networks, came a problem they hadn't foreseen.

An invisible line had seemingly been drawn, with the arisen androids sequestering themselves voluntarily until they felt ready to reintegrate themselves. It was a worrying development, but one which Markus had no choice but to let continue. The only thing which would help them now, was time.

Things were very different with those who had died during the uprising and in the short time after. Many of them were shocked upon their resurrection, but learning that androids were now free and making great strides in the world saw them determined to be a part of that world. The only exception was those androids which had self-destructed. As with the bombing victims, less than one in five of them chose to live.

Now into their last wave of restoration, Hank went to see one resurrection personally, asking for Amelia's support. He'd lost many people he knew in the bombing, some better than others, and a very special pair had remained in his thoughts. Two young women who'd become somewhat of an inspiration: for their courage in not letting the fact they were different races stop them from falling in love. While Stephanie was dead and gone – the curse of mortality remained for humans – Katherine could be restored.

He'd seen the light leave her eyes the first time, and he wanted to be there as it returned; regardless of her choice on whether to live or not.

Amelia gave one last check over Katherine, ensuring she was in perfect working order before attempting to re-activate her. Once she was satisfied, she looked at Hank to await his instruction. With a sharp nod, Hank urged her to bring back the android being held aloft in the maintenance arms. Amelia gave a long sigh before connecting to Katherine via where her LED would have once been, searching for the right protocol. Having now done this over a hundred times, Amelia was well practiced, but the breath still caught in her artificial lungs every time she felt that jolt through the connection.

Feeling the dead surge back to life.

Katherine jolted upright and her eyes quickly flashed as her systems came back online, causing Hank's breath to freeze. This was the first time he'd seen the process from this perspective, the only other he had seen at all had been North. His mind was still struggling to come to terms slightly with the reality that these androids, who were all in their most basic definition, robots, were come back to _life._ It was more than a slight mind fuck.

Her body was rigid and tense as she made eye contact with the human standing before her, and Hank could see the immense sadness which clouded her eyes as she remembered everything. "Why…am I here?" she asked, the grief allowing static to steep through her voice.

Amelia came to stand beside Hank as he spoke tenderly to the young woman suspended before them. "Katherine, what do you remember?"

Tears welled in her eyes and they briefly closed, her whole body crumpling in recollection. "Stephanie…she's gone, isn't she?"

Hank inhaled deeply before answering her. "Yes, she is. I'm sorry, Katherine."

When her eyes opened again, they seemed so lifeless. "How long…?"

"It has been almost a month now," Amelia said sympathetically. No matter how often she had seen this, it was no easier. And she had a distinct feeling that Katherine was only going to choose one way. Unbeknownst to her, Hank had the same instinct.

"A month…Tell me, was she buried?" Katherine asked tearfully.

Hesitating slightly, Hank slowly answered her. "Yes, she was. She is on the outskirts of Detroit." Many of the human victims of the bombings had been disowned by their families for choosing to ally themselves with the androids, Stephanie's family had been one of them. Markus had arranged for all of them to buried in some disused land, so they could be laid to rest in dignity.

Katherine smiled minutely and raised her head to look at them with a heartbroken stare. "Can you bury me next to her?"

Amelia began crying next to Hank and turned away subtly as the human dragged in a shuddering breath. "Katherine…You have Markus' message with you in the code, you know what he said. You have the choice of whether to live or die. Is-Is this really what you want?" he asked shakily.

She nodded once, slow but strong. "I don't want to live without her, Lieutenant. Death is peaceful, unlike the roaring agony in my heart here. At least there I can dream of her without pain. Please…let me dream and not awaken into this nightmare again."

The blue-haired android next to him strode forward to prepare to shut Katherine down, but Hank caught her shoulder lightly. Amelia looked at him curiously. "Let me," he said softly, understanding passing between them. She nodded, going to the panel next to Katherine and interfacing with it to upload a program that Josh had specially designed. It would allow an android to instantly shut down upon either the removal of their regulator, or the control program being passed to their LED.

If Hank wanted to give her peace himself, there was only one of those paths he could take.

Taking a moment to prepare, he strode forward and lightly pressed against Katherine's regulator. Waiting to ensure she was completely settled in her choice, Hank saw her smile and twisted the biocomponent around. Katherine took in a shuddering breath and smiled at him, allowing her tears to fall unchecked. "Thank you, Lieutenant. It was an honour knowing and working with you."

Giving her a small smile in return through his own pain, Hank nodded at her before releasing the pressure on her regulator. It popped out, and with it the female android slumped as she fell into permanent shutdown.

Dragging in an unsteady breath, Hank pulled the regulator out and handed it to Amelia without making eye contact. It had been agreed that all the androids who chose death would have many of their biocomponents harvested to protect those who became injured in the future, but it seemed wrong here. Katherine had wanted only to be buried next to her love…and Hank felt she should be left as intact as possible. Amelia took the piece and placed it on a nearby table, instead going to embrace him tightly. He gripped back fiercely, knowing the android would be able to tell what was cycling through his head.

Hank was terrified. Even if they managed to bring Connor back, would he choose to slip back into oblivion willingly? If he did, then Hank was sure to follow him. This had the potential to truly break the human beyond all redemption if it went wrong.

"That was hard, how are you holding up?" she asked tearfully. That was among the worst re-activations she had been a part of, just because it was so _sad_.

"I'll be all right," he replied heavily. "I really hoped that she would choose life, but I cannot blame her for wanting peace. It was incredibly tempting to me for so long."

Amelia pulled back slightly to leave a lingering kiss on his cheek before leaning back completely. "Well, I for one am glad you didn't go through with it." Hank smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her forehead, earning a shy smile in return. Amelia moved away and began the process of lowering Katherine from the assembly rig as Hank felt a vibration from his wrist strap. He raised it to see the message waiting there from Markus.

 _ **Bring Amelia up. She's ready.**_

His heart soared: _finally_ some truly good news. He couldn't wait for this.

"Amelia." She spun at the calling of her name. "Markus wants to see us. Will we be able to leave Katherine here undisturbed?" The female android nodded, but the pair first ensured she was entirely free from the rig and resting peacefully on the nearby exam table before locking the door. The medical androids had managed to get an entire floor of the tower up and running for all their treatments and maintenances work, but Amelia made sure to lock the door to her own personal biometrics before they headed up in the elevator.

Markus had sectioned off the top two levels of the tower for the use of himself and his inner circle, making sure there was some degree of privacy for them. Unbeknownst to Amelia, Chloe had been helping them make some very special repairs to some of the androids lost in both the uprising and the early days of their freedom. The existence of their bodies was still a secret, even now, and Hank couldn't want to see Amelia's face when she saw who was waiting for them.

Arriving on the top floor of the tower, Markus greeted them with a beaming smile. "Hank, Amelia, I'm glad you made it up so speedily. Please, Amelia, head through. I wish to speak with Hank for a moment."

Eyeing them curiously, Amelia did as asked and walked ahead, leaving Hank and Markus alone. "Chloe waiting for her?" Hank asked gruffly.

The android leader was unsurprised at the slight detour: they both knew why Markus had wanted the privacy. "Yes, she is. Shall I suggest that Chloe usher Amelia in?"

Hank nodded. "Reunions like theirs deserve privacy. Let Amelia have her moment to break down without outside eyes." Markus smiled in agreement and sent the message. The pair stood in silence for a moment, letting the magnitude of the day settle. "How's she taking it?"

Markus hesitated for a second. "As well as can be expected, honestly. North knows how I feel about her, and I think she knew I would always do this. Still, I can't help but fear I have betrayed her somehow by-"

"Markus, this business is between the three of you. I'm not part of it," Hank interrupted. "You all need to sit down and talk about it. But yeah, this is complicated as fuck, and her newly developed anxiety won't be helping matters. Where did she go?"

"Downstairs, to plan with Ben. I think she appreciates his help, having a second would probably be beneficial to the both of you in your roles. I will go to her later, once we have both adjusted a little more. A lot has changed."

Hank could understand North's need for space, but knew she tended to overthink things when left alone. Hopefully Ben could be ample distraction for the time being. "Do you regret it? The world's changing pretty fucking quick."

Steely eyes met the human's own. "No," Markus said resolutely. "Regardless of all else, I could never regret this. Is it a crime to be selfish sometimes?"

The human chuckled and clapped Markus on the back. "Nah, 'specially not after all you've sacrificed. You still intending on giving both of them a shot?"

"You don't think the idea a little strange?" the android asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Markus, polyamorous relationships became a lot more common as I grew up. I was in one years ago; so no, it doesn't bother me. Just make sure North knows that's what you want, yeah? I think the poor girl is scared that she's going to lose you."

Giving an understanding nod, Markus walked away down the corridor. Hank followed him slowly, and came to a stop as he found Chloe standing outside one of the former offices. She gave him a warm smile and turned her gaze inwards. He joined her, his heart lightening considerably at seeing the two female androids within wrapped around each other on their knees. One with sapphire blue hair that he would know anywhere, tears of joy and elation streaming down her cheeks as she lost herself in the arms of the woman with short caramel locks – the woman she loved.

Amelia had never looked so happy as she was in that moment, back in Autumn's embrace.

Smiling broadly, Hank left the to it, continuing further inside. He soon found two more rooms, one with the door open and the other still shut. He peered inside the open one briefly, seeing Markus sat on the edge of an examination table talking to the android laying atop it – an android Hank had only seen once before his untimely death. His resurrection had been incredibly risky given he had self-destructed, but after learning that it was out of desperation to protect Jericho, Markus had steeled himself for the worst. They were instead rewarded with an incredible surprise.

The pair were whispering amongst themselves quietly, the blonde android looking incredibly shy while his eyes darted everywhere. Markus chuckled and brought their palms up and interfaced with the other, watching as his eyes widened dramatically.

Hank turned away again just as Markus leant down and kissed Simon. They deserved privacy: fuck knew they probably wouldn't get much once Simon's return became public knowledge.

Turning his eyes to the closed door, Hank opened it after placing his palm on the panel. Inside was another table, just like the one Simon had been lying atop, only this time the android that lay there was motionless. Still lost in the oblivion of death. Hank approached him slowly, seeing the small change from before. Diverting his course to a small desk at the side, he instead picked up the wrecked bicomponent on top of it, studying it carefully.

His own heart squeezed painfully at holding Connor's destroyed one in his hands.

So fragile, just like a human. One shot through the heart had ended Connor's life, but Hank wasn't going to rest until the replacement was beating in Connor's chest. He took special note of the etching on the edge of the bicomponent - _#6619r_ – and memorized it. This was going to be crucial in the small chance that they could build another one without hunting down the RK900: not that they wouldn't be doing so anyway.

Still, if they could just kill it any way possible rather than ensuring its heart was in one peace, that would be a great help.

Placing the heart back down on the desk, he came to stop at Connor's side. Hank stared down at his son's lax face, brushing back some of his brown hair as he spoke to him softly. The anti-virus worked, they could bring Connor back. He just had to be patient.

"Just a little while longer, Connor. You'll be back with us soon."

* * *

Phew, it feels good to finally get another chapter of this fic out. I'd say we have 5 chapters left of this part, but don't quote me on it! My chapters have a habit of extending unintentionally.

Hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	9. Consequences

Hey all!

Yikes, I did not mean for this update to get pushed back into 2019, but between work and my determination to get my Xmas one-shot out, this became an unfortunate casualty. Still, I'm back with another instalment, and this one is probably going to catch a few of you by surprise.

I'm not going to leave any notes at the bottom, you'll all see why later, but all I'm going to say for now is…I'm sorry.

Special thanks for reviews: **MagicalWitch92, xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage** and one **Guest**.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Consequences**

It turned out that with so many people joining the android population, the next three weeks flew by. Between integrating all those that were newly awakened, those who had been resurrected and were coming to terms with all that entailed, and all their work in rebuilding both New Jericho and Belle-Isle, all the androids were rushed off their feet. Markus was hyper aware that it would not take long for the rest of the Detroit population to realise their dramatic increase in numbers, and he wanted at least one of the settlements to be secure in case there were repercussions.

With so many extra pairs of hands, it made the rebuilding progress rapidly, and Belle-Isle soon became fully inhabitable. Androids needed much fewer amenities than humans, and it became a beacon of hope for them. A physical symbol of their progress, and a chance for change after the bombing which had cost them so much. Many androids took residence there, almost all of the inner circle included, and they focused their efforts on making it a safe haven.

The outlandish holes in all the floors were being filled to allow much more space for residential areas, and the upper levels were being completely repurposed. Three floors dedicated to medical and research facilities, another for security, one more as a new control centre for operations in both the AIF and ADF, and the top two as the secure space for those who Markus trusted most. It was a daunting amount of work, and would take some time to complete.

Their network of buildings was slowly growing, but with it came a lot more organisational headaches. Such a dramatic increase in population meant that they needed more help in their inner circle.

Fortunately, Simon and Autumn were both keen to throw themselves in headfirst as a coping method for their sudden returns to life. That didn't mean it was easy, however.

As with most of those who had come back from the dead, both Autumn and Simon suffered personality shifts. While Simon had become a little more serious and head-strong, Autumn's hatred for how humans had butchered her gave her a much more violent edge. So much so, that Hank had joked that his nickname of 'psycho' for North wouldn't do Autumn justice. The cruel smile she had given in response had sent a shiver down his spine.

He found himself wondering how someone who was as sweet as Amelia could cope with that shift. Judging by the almost permanent smile on her face, however, she was just overjoyed to have her love back.

Autumn's aggressive tendencies made her a natural fit for the ADF, joining under the premise of becoming North's second-in-command. While the other woman was slowly recovering her confidence, the fiery nature of Autumn in contrast was good therapy in regaining some of her own fight. And right now, more than ever, she needed it. Her assuredness had completely fled since the day of Autumn and Simon's returns, though she was doing a good job of putting up a front for most.

Not that Hank blamed her. Really, Markus could probably have handled the whole situation a little better, but he couldn't blame their leader either. It was an insanely complicated situation.

While Autumn was settling into the ADF, Simon was being trained to join Josh's role in co-ordinating logistics between the AIF, ADF and their other holdings. Their network was rapidly expanding, and they needed someone else completely trustworthy to be there in the heart of it all. Simon was a quick study, and his more serious nature leant well to the harsh and complicated nature of the work. Josh had the patience, but Simon had more drive to improve and bring greater stability. It was hard work, but Simon was determined to see it through as his contribution to their new world.

That, and it was helping to distract the android from his guilt. He'd learned an awful lot of what had happened in the seven months since his demise: and he'd quickly realised that many things had changed.

Which was why Hank had ended up with a new pseudo-permanent roommate in the form of North. She couldn't bear to be a part of the rapidly growing population of Belle-Isle and be faced with Markus and Simon's new found relationship in such proximity, so she'd asked Hank for somewhere to stay. The place she felt safest. Hank wouldn't have ever dreamed of saying no to her, if he was honest with himself, he was glad to have her close by to make sure she wasn't falling into some self-destructive coping methods. He knew, however, that it was only a stop-gap solution.

She needed to speak with Markus, but North was so terrified at what the situation meant for her that she'd run.

They ended up not speaking for a week and a half after that day, between working and North's avoidance of him, so Hank really shouldn't have been so surprised when Markus turned up at his door.

What did catch him off-guard, was the dog which sat at Markus' feet.

Markus was evidently nervous, and Hank looked at him strangely. "You've got a damn key, Markus," he stated, confused. "What's with ringing the bell?"

Sighing, Markus tried to peer around Hank. "Is she here?"

Hank leant against the frame and crossed his arms. "Yeah, she is. No offense meant here, Markus, but I don't think she really wants to speak to you right now."

"I kind of figured," Markus admitted sadly. "I don't blame her for being angry with me."

Giving a small sigh of relent, Hank stepped away from the door and allowed Markus in, closing it behind him. "She's not mad, Markus. She's scared."

Markus watched as Sumo caught the scent of the new dog and let the black Labrador go, allowing the two to meet in the living room and become acquainted. When Hank sat on the sofa, Markus took the recliner at the side instead. "Scared?"

"Well, yeah. North's terrified for what you and Simon being a thing means for you and her. I know you told her that you want to try a relationship with both of them, but that isn't going to reassure her right now with her confidence at rock bottom."

"I…I'm aware that I have not handled this well, Hank," Markus confessed, looking down. "This is so difficult to explain, and I don't even know where to start. This is probably an overly personal question, but have you ever lost someone that you were romantically involved with?"

Hank grimaced and leant back with a pained expression. "Yeah, I have. The girl I was dating when I was twenty was killed in a freak skiing accident. Took me a good couple of years to come to terms with it."

"Could you imagine what you would do, if you were suddenly gifted her back? Could you stop yourself from loving her just as passionately as you did before, even if you were involved with someone else?"

"Humans aren't the ones to ask about this, Markus. We've got the concept of monogamy pretty well ingrained in our heads, though I have been part of a polyamorous relationship years ago. It can work, it's just a lot of effort and communication. Takes a lot of talking to make sure everyone knows where they stand, and what they are looking for out of each relationship."

Markus looked interested. "What changed for you?"

"Cole's mom. She, a friend of ours and I were in a three-way after Vanessa and I ended up having a drunken one-night stand. I felt awful about it, especially when it turned out she was in a semi-serious relationship with the other guy, but we all talked about what happened. Turned out the two of them were all right with seeing other people so long as it was a casual relationship on the side. We were like that for years until Vanessa learned she was pregnant. She wanted to settle after that, and Luke wasn't keen: especially as he knew the baby was mine since he couldn't have kids. We ended up together until Cole died, and then we just…drifted."

"So, she was involved in two completely separate relationships?"

"Yep, though Van and I were only something easy-going on the side, and we were always very aware that was the arrangement. I got on well with Luke, he was decent guy, and I was always open with him about how often Vanessa and I met up. The honesty is the reason it worked. If she hadn't ended up pregnant, I reckon we might have stayed that way for a lot longer." Hank could see Markus running this through his mind. "You're worried how it would work seeing as you want serious relationships with both of them."

Exhaling deeply, Markus looked up at Hank again. "I loved Simon almost instantly, and now I love North just as fiercely. Neither of them asked for this, so to choose between them seems…wrong."

Hank gave him half a smile. "Well, North doesn't want to give you up. She's just scared that the 'new' her isn't the person you fell in love with."

Markus smiled sadly. "Neither is Simon. Both of them have changed, though that doesn't mean my feelings have." His eyes went through to the hallway, knowing that is where North would be. "Do you think she would speak with me?"

Looking back himself, Hank gave it some thought before standing. "Gimme a minute, I'll see. By the way, what's with the dog?"

The android went over to pet the Labrador which had been nosing around the room, Sumo watching from his spot at the side of the room. "I have been doing some research and there are many studies supporting the fact that animals can aid in mental or physical trauma. Given North's attachment to Sumo, I thought a dog might be a good addition to help her come to terms with her new life: especially if she wishes to remain outside of the android community."

"I don't think she'll be here for long, Markus. North feels safe here, and I think that security is going to go a long way in aiding her recovery."

Markus' mouth quirked upwards. "Yes, seeing all the others, I have learned that security is a big factor in their healing."

Giving a short nod to the other man, Hank strode through the house to North's room. She was in exactly the spot he expected – staring up at the ceiling from her position of lying atop the bed, headphones on and listening to music. North had learned months ago that she loved music (death metal no less, which had amused Hank endlessly), and she had often used it as a way to unwind before her death. Now, it was like discovering an old friend again, something which carried between her old life and new.

She saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and gave Hank a lazy, relaxed smile. "Hey old man, what's happening? You looking for a drinking pal?" she asked warmly, but then realised the serious look on his face. North sat up, pulling her headphones off to give him her full attention. "Hank, what is it?"

Pausing for a moment to think on how he was going to word his statement, Hank eventually decided to just be upfront. "Markus is here, and he wants to talk with you," he answered slowly, watching her reaction carefully.

North's eyes widened and she recoiled slightly, which it took Hank only a second to clock. He wandered over and sat next to her, making sure not to be too quick – North was jumpy when she wasn't relaxed. "What did you say to him?" she whispered.

"That I'd ask you first. Wasn't going to let him in if you weren't up to it." Immediately, North's rigid posture eased. "I spoke with him, and he really does just want to talk and make sure you are all right. He hasn't seen you in a while after all."

Hank could see North was still unsure if she was prepared for the conversation she knew would be coming. "I don't know if I'm ready for this," she admitted quietly.

An arm came to wrap around her shoulders and North's sad eyes looked up to meet Hank's own. "This isn't easy, and I know how shit you are feeling right now, but this is a good thing," he reassured her. North looked unconvinced. "He wants you to come back, North. Markus loves you, that hasn't changed even with all the other crazy shit going on."

"Maybe…but that doesn't stop me feeling…cast off."

"North, we both know that he's always loved Simon, Markus has always admitted that. Him coming back is something that is throwing a major fucking spanner into a good thing, but that doesn't mean it is necessarily bad. You know I was part of a three-way for a long time."

Her shoulders slumped in thought again. "Yes, but yours wasn't serious. You were just the shag on the side."

Hank pretended to be offended. "Rude, North. You're making me sound like a booty call or something." North raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, fine, that's essentially what it was, you don't need to rub my face in it. Still, we had an emotional connection, even if it wasn't exactly romantic for a long time. The point I'm making is, you can be with more than one person, but only if that's what you want. But…if you don't think you can handle Markus being with Simon, then I think you might have a big problem," Hank confessed.

North thought on it for a second before looking at the floor again. "That's never been the issue, Hank. I'm just worried that I'm not good enough for him now. Before all this happened, I don't think it would have affected me like this. I _need_ Markus, now more than ever."

Standing up, Hank offered her a hand. "Then go out there and talk to him. Hiding in here isn't going to solve anything. I've never taken you as one to run from her problems," he teased, seeing the momentary flash in her eyes. North gave him a flash of a smirk before grabbing his hand, coming to her feet. Hank winked as he approached the way. "By the way, Markus has a present for you. I'm sure you're going to love it."

She looked at him in confusion. "A present?"

He smiled at seeing her eyes widen at the unfamiliar bark after Sumo had woofed himself. "Oh yeah, a big, black furry one."

North did adore him, and after several hours of talking, she agreed to come back to Belle-Isle the following night to spend more time with Markus…and to talk with Simon. Their talk wasn't easy, and they knew the road ahead wouldn't be either, but they were willing to give it a try.

Comforts like loved ones were not to be given up so easily, after all.

Hank knew that better than anyone…and he was more determined than ever to find that RK900. Even if Connor couldn't accept the lengths he was willing to go to, Hank needed him back. That hope was what kept him going now.

* * *

Unfortunately, it was only going to be so long before humans noticed something was going on. What it was that they twigged first, however, was not what any of them expected.

Questions were being asked about androids going around sporting a tattoo on their wrists: the phoenix resurrection mark.

It was common knowledge that standard tattoos didn't apply to androids, so the more frequent nature of the phoenix design had aroused suspicion. As yet, Markus had managed to play it off, but that wouldn't last forever. He had only stated that it was a mark uniting a certain group of androids who were going through trauma, but he didn't elaborate on it. Thus far, the excuse was being bought but they all knew when the truth came out, it was going to be a potentially violent reaction.

Everyone gathered together in Belle-Isle to discuss the situation and to put the claimed CyberLife stores to good use. Thus far, they had just been sitting empty, but North and Autumn aired their thoughts on turned them into outposts for the ADF while using their base in New Jericho to train all their new recruits. As it turned out, they were given three of the stores while the AIF were given the other two. Both divisions had found hundreds of new recruits, and they needed space. Unlike their sister organisation, however, the AIF were going to use the defunct stores to train their members.

One big surprise had come about from the number of humans who had come to New Jericho looking to become part of the community. It turned out that many had wanted to make a contribution and join the androids after the events of the bombing…and even more surprising was the number who admitted to having android lovers. The turn of events had shocked them all, but it did give them a much needed boost. Support amongst humans was going to be crucial.

Partway through the meeting, Hank, Chris and Ben all notified of an incoming call. The Lieutenant's stomach tightened when he twigged the name on his wrist strap. "Allen? What you found?" he answered out loud, letting the others in on who was getting in touch. Markus gave him a look and Hank nodded. The android quickly interfaced with a panel on the wall and it allowed the call to be broadcast in the room via speakers, allowing everyone else to listen it.

There was only one reason Allen would be calling.

" _The DPD stumbled onto another red ice lab in an old factory at the north of the city,"_ the SWAT captain replied, and several people around the room winced. " _It's a fucking mess. There's still a few officers down here, but they've not been allowed in yet. Fowler's made sure you guys get first shot at scoping the full scene. My men are making sure no-one gets too nosy, but I wouldn't count on it lasting."_

"We'll be there, send me the location and I'll bring a squad down. Tell your guys to be aware that an ADF faction will follow behind, we're taking no chances."

" _Copy that, Anderson. And…I'd maybe get rid of your anger on a punch bag before you get down here. Or maybe you'd want to use an old acquaintance as one, I don't give a shit. He's driving me up the wall, and that's saying a lot considering I dealt with_ _ **you**_ _for years."_

Hank groaned before signing off. "Thanks for the tip, Anderson out."

Ben smirked when the call ended, clapping Hank on the back. "Enjoy dealing with Reed, Hank. I'm glad I'm sitting this one out." Hank glared at him while Chris chuckled.

North quickly stood with Autumn only a second behind her. "I'll get together a team," she said assuredly. "Give me details when you get to the scene. I'll start out with ten and have another fifteen on backup if you need them."

The lieutenant gave her a nod. "Thanks, North. Make sure she doesn't get trigger happy," he stated while nodding towards Autumn.

She scoffed in response. "If we find any humans responsible, I'm not promising anything." The threat hung heavy in the air and while they knew it was only a possibility with North before, I was likely with Autumn. A heated stare from the other side of the table had her squirming slightly and Autumn gave an aggravated sigh. "Fucking fine, I won't shoot any. Can we at least rough one up when we get to interrogate them?"

Hank quickly spied Amelia's unimpressed demeanour from his other side and pretended to think about it. "Not my call, but if they piss you off enough I might make sure I'm looking the other way."

Autumn laughed. "No wonder Amelia likes you," she declared while sauntering off. "You coming boss?" North rolled her eyes and did so, slapping the back of Autumn's head while having a feisty discussion which could still be heard even as they walked away.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with her…" Amelia lamented while rubbing her eyes in a very human gesture. Hank noticed this and ran his thumb over the back of her neck, which had Amelia chuckling. "Love how you wait until Autumn isn't here to do that," she teased.

"Don't want your bloodthirsty girlfriend getting the wrong idea," he replied with a smile. Amelia leant back into his tough for a second before Hank moved back, nodding towards the door. "Chris, we'd better get down there. Amelia, I'd be on standby for if we find anyone alive. We'll keep you all in the loop."

In the back of his mind, Hank was hoping that there would be a lead here for the RK900. He still didn't know why the machine was getting involved in red ice rings, but right now it was their only link to it. It had now been all but two months since the bombing, and they'd not heard anything of it. He'd give the machine one thing: it was infinitely patient. It's end goal still had him worried, however.

 _What is that thing after?_

* * *

Their journey to the scene was uneventful, and it was just under 45 minutes later that Hank pulled up with Chris and five others from the AIF. Allen met Hank and Chris at the perimeter with unwelcome company at his side, and Chris couldn't stop a chuckle when Hank groaned dramatically. "And there was me thinking I'd never have to see your ugly mug again after last time. Seems like your scar's a bit bigger than last time I saw you, huh Reed?" he greeted in a condescending manner, though there was no mistaking the glee in the end of his statement.

Gavin scoffed and glared back. "Trust me, having your musty old ass sniffing around one of my scenes is not my idea of a good time, Anderson, but here we are," the other man hissed. "Fowler's giving you run of the place, for some godforsaken reason, but I ain't gonna wait forever for you. Get your shit together and get out, I've got some clean-up to be doing and I don't want to waste my night on some plastic carcasses."

"Bark all you like, Reed, I know you've got no bite behind it," Hank taunted, earning another quiet laugh out of Chris. "Just for that, I'll be taking my sweet-ass time. Oh, and don't forget the cavalry coming in about twenty minutes. Bet you're going to _love_ having so many androids around," he finished merrily.

Even Allen flashed a grin as Gavin gave one last icy glare and stormed off. "Thanks for that, nobody else can quite get under his skin like you can, Anderson," the SWAT captain complimented while shaking Hank's hand.

Hank smirked as the other man led the way in. "Easy with the years of practice I've gotten, though I was hoping that getting his fucking promotion might have made him less of an asshole. Can't beat genetics I suppose."

"Maybe it's a Lieutenant thing to be an ass?" joked one of the officers from behind, earning laughs out of everyone else.

Impressed that it was one of the three android members he'd brought along that made the joke, Hank smiled while flipping him off. "Just for that, I'm gonna give you the shittiest job, Nick. Enjoy your self-inflicted punishment." Still smiling, Hank turned back to Allen. "So, give me the rundown."

Allen led them through the rusted door into the main body of the old factory. "Thus far, we've accounted for eleven android bodies, though that's only in this room. We swept the rest of the area for threats but haven't detailed anything else. Not gonna lie, some of these bodies are pretty well mangled. There are at least another seven downstairs, but I can't account for all the pieces scattered about. A lot of them got torn to shreds."

Letting out a resigned sigh, Hank turned to the rest of his team. "Fan out and take stock of this floor, Chris and I are going to scope out downstairs. Look through every nook and cranny, we don't want to risk leaving anyone behind here." It went unspoken that Hank meant both dead or alive. He then turned to Allen again. "We've got more coming in from the ADF…and you're going to get a hell of a shock when you see whose with them." Allen raised an eyebrow while Hank looked around to make sure no-one was overhearing them. "Keep this to yourself for now, this isn't public knowledge." Allen looked suspicious but nodded. "North."

That had the other man reeling. "How the fuck does that work? She got her brains blown out, didn't she?"

"And that's the thing about androids…they don't necessarily stay dead. We got her back a few weeks ago, but she's a little different. Just bear that in mind." After giving Hank a look to make sure the older man knew he owed more explanation than that, Allen left with nod. "By the way…" Hank shouted as the SWAT captain was almost out of sight. "Watch out for her new sidekick. She's the opposite of Reed: a loud bark and a fucking nasty-ass bite."

"Sounds like a delight," Allen deadpanned. "Keep me updated, I'll send the ADF in when they get here."

Chris and Hank watched Allen leave before making their way to the stairs leading downwards, pulling their guns out as they descended. While they trusted Allen's judgement that the scene was secure, they were taking no chances. They'd fallen foul of traps before. The older man led the way as they made it to lower level and they pulled out flashlights as seeing some of the rooms no longer had working bulbs. "Fantastic, nothing like a bit of mood lighting to set the scene," Chris joked, earning a chuckle from Hank.

The pair cycled round the floor, taking note of all the bodies and fragments they found around the room. It was grisly viewing. Within three rooms they'd found five complete bodies along with another eleven limbs and four torsos. Hank held up a UV light and wanted to be sick as he saw the sheer volume of blue blood which had dried and spattered across every surface of the rooms, even the roof. "Christ, this is a torture hole," he stated as Chris shivered.

They'd just made it into the fifth room when they saw one of the bodies under a pile of three others was twitching. Sharing a look, Hank and Chris went over and dug the individual out, finding it to be a male AP700. "Shit, Chris, get the word out that we've got survivors down here!" Hank barked while scanning the android's body for all his injuries.

"Got it, Lieutenant!" Chris replied while quickly firing off a message with two codes in it to North. One alerting her to survivors, and the other for her to raise the alarm with Belle-Isle to be ready for someone in critical condition.

"Crap, this poor bastard isn't going to last much longer we need to-"

A clatter of cans from the next room had the pair of them freezing, guns raised, with both flashlights pointed at the opening.

Hank looked quickly at Chris and gave him a nod, taking point. Chris was right behind him, the pair trying to keep as silent as possible while moving forwards. They crept up to the opening and looked in the next room, each scanning one side of the room. Hank used hand signals and told Chris to check the right, while he took the left. They advanced slowly, making sure to look in every possible hiding spot to find what made the noise. It could have been a rat, a dog or any manner of animal.

Or it could have been something more sinister, like one of their perps who hadn't quite got away.

Hank spied a shadow at the far side of the room and sprinted after it when it ran. "Chris, company!" he shouted while giving chase, but Chris was at the other end of the room, a good ten metres away without taking account of all the junk between them. Uncaring, Hank continued his pursuit into the dark, just keeping an eye on his target. They ran through several more rooms, but Hank could see he was slowly closing the gap. He wasn't going to let this sick bastard get away. As they made a sharp right into a neighbouring room, Hank was all but on their tail and braced himself to tackle them.

He wasn't expecting the sight which greeted him as they spun.

A face which had haunted his dreams for months and soft brown eyes which he would have given anything to see again, staring at him in something akin to wonder.

Hank froze on the spot, his mind making all the impossible connections.

 _It can't be…_

It wasn't.

The height was wrong, it was too close to his own. The face was too sharp, but the dim lighting masked it. Brown melted into icy grey as the mellow shock on the android's face morphed into cold blankness. Hank realised too late that he'd run straight into a trap, but couldn't react fast enough.

Electricity shot through his veins as he felt twin prongs puncture his side and Hank screamed in agony, collapsing in a breathless heap. He'd been tasered once before, but it hadn't felt anything like that. His whole body had just gone limp on him.

From the next room, Chris heard Hank's shout and raced towards the sound, but wasn't prepared for the piece of machinery which was hurled straight at his head. Striking with pinpoint accuracy, he clattered to the ground in a bloody heap, red spreading from the new wound. Chris' vision was blurry from where he'd landed on his right side, body numb as he watched the silhouette which emerged into the light just above the barely conscious Hank. He blinked furiously as he saw the assailant kneel and swiftly slam the butt of their gun right into Hank's forehead, knocking him out cold.

Chris' breath lodged in his throat as he saw the RK900 turn and stare at him for three seconds before picking up the other man's body and striding away with purpose.

Fighting through the black which was slowly invading his vision, Chris managed to get on to his back and set off the emergency alarm on his wrist. He just prayed someone was nearby that could come in time… they had to know that the RK900 had taken one of their own.

He blacked out, not knowing if he'd wake again.


	10. Loyalty And Devotion

So, hi again. I know this chapter will come as a bit of a surprise for the speed of the update, but I found myself in the right mindset to write it and knew I had to get it out of the way. I've been dreading it since I started this story.

I can imagine a lot of you are ticked with me for where I left that last chapter: it was a brutal twist, and I think I caught all of you with it. And now for the question of the hour. Why did the RK900 take Hank? You're about to find out, as well as a whole lot more.

Special thanks for reviews: **xNarielx, lordvaatithewindmage, AnUnorthodoxDecision** and one **Guest.**

This chapter about destroyed me, I hated every minute of writing it. Why did my mind decide that this is the path this story is taking? God knows, but you all know well by now that this universe is pretty fucking dark. Still, this is reaching some brutal new depths.

I'm not leaving notes at the bottom again, so I'm going to apologise now for where it ends. This almost broke my heart to write, so prepare yourselves. This may well be the hardest thing I've ever written.

 **TRIGGER WARNINGS** for this chapter - graphic descriptions of torture, suicidal thoughts and a brief allusion to rape (it is _**NOT**_ going to happen, but the threat is still there and I don't want to trigger anyone.)

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Loyalty And Devotion**

It took North only seconds to realise what the beeping which blasted through every member of the android forces heads' was, but with it came a deep sense of dread. Thus far, no-one equipped with that emergency beacon had been forced to use it as it was exclusive to the human members of their numbers. The sound was piercing and caused almost all of the androids to wince, akin to that of a high-pitched siren as it continue to screech. Upon realising the source, North swiftly got in touch with Belle-Isle.

 _Simon, Josh, who's in trouble? Can you get a lock on the beacon?_ she asked while whistling for the rest of her team to gather, the group having barely separated upon arriving at the scene.

 _ **North, we can't lock on to the source, there's a massive amount of interference. It's almost like the trace is being jammed.**_ Josh replied, and with it the proverbial knot in North's stomach tightened.

 _ **It's coming from Chris, see if you can learn his last location! **_Simon urged, sharing her feeling of unease.

 _Update Markus, I don't like this._

 _ **We're on it, be careful.**_

As the rest of her team gathered, North spied that Captain Allen had noticed their rapid accumulation and was approaching. Giving Autumn instructions over the network for their team to spread out and search the area, she then switched her attention to the SWAT captain. "Allen, where did the Lieutenant take his group?" she demanded.

Raising an eyebrow at the serious tone, Allen nodded towards the factory. "Anderson split up his group, some are still on the main floor while the rest went to the floor below. Where's the fire, North?" he replied severely.

"We've just got an emergency signal from Chris Miller, he's in danger," she answered. Allen was one of the few humans she respected enough to trust when some of their own were in potential peril. He'd helped them enough for North to know that he was a friend to their cause.

Eyes widening, Allen got on his radio. "Alpha squad, reconvene at the factory floor and await instruction from the commander of the ADF, we've got a developing situation. All other teams remain at your stations." Now finished, he gave the android his full attention again. "I'll make sure the DPD stay back until the area is clear. My men swept the area, what could have happened?"

North shook her head. "We don't know yet. Any idea where Chris Miller went?"

"Pretty sure he stuck with the Lieutenant."

Giving a final nod, North sprinted over to her team, who had now rendezvoused with the smaller squadron of Captain Allen's men to await her orders. After issuing them promptly and with authority, North led Autumn and six others to the level below. Being back in her role as a leader helped ground North, even as her mind raced and threatened to rebel. It was all too similar, the situation too hauntingly similar to-

Her thirium pump faltered at the sudden thought which came screeching in to her mind. It _was_ too similar. A sudden attack from nowhere with no ascertainable perpetrator? Mental trauma from the attack which had resulted in her death came roaring back and North slowed to a stop, breathing harshly as the rest continued on ahead of them.

Autumn spied when North went rigid and gripped her upper arm. "North, what's the hold-up?" she snapped, tone easing slightly when she saw the panic in North's eyes. Unable to vocalise the horrific thoughts, North instead rapidly interfaced with Autumn, letting her see everything. As another resurrected android, she was well acquainted with the feeling of death and North felt no guilt or shame in letting her see the events of her own. Autumn's face fell, and North could feel the slightest echo of shock ripple back through their connection before she broke it. " _Fuck,_ North…I knew how you died, but that was-"

"Save it," North cut her off with a harsh tone. "You know what I'm thinking. Please, for fuck's sake, tell me I'm being paranoid. Tell me this is just my barely held together mind making a completely wrong connection." Autumn stared at her in silence, and that was answer enough. "Shit. We need to find them _now_."

In complete agreement, Autumn nodded sharply and the pair caught up to the rest of their team, scoping the area at speed. It only took them another minute to come across the pile of bodies which had caught the attention of their companions, to which Autumn beckoned in help after realising some of the androids could maybe be reactivated. North continued on ahead with three others, and as she rounded into another room just down the corridor, her blood ran cold at finding the crumpled and unconscious form of Chris on the floor.

"Spread out! Lock down the area and get an ambulance called in!" she bellowed while skidding to a stop next to the fallen human, gently turning Chris to get a good look at the wound on his forehead. Most of the bleeding had thankfully stopped, but as with all head wounds, the volume of red made the injury looked severe. After reaching down to deactivate the distress call on the wrist strap, North softly shook him, relieved when Chris groaned lowly at the thundering headache which invaded his senses while regaining consciousness. "Chris, can you hear me?" she questioned quietly.

Chris grumbled as even that was too loud and hissed when he tried to sit up, but the throbbing was too much. "North…" he mumbled back, moaning at the pain.

"Easy," she soothed, dropping her voice even lower. "You've got a bad head injury. Can you remember what happened?"

"We…the Lieutenant…"

North heard footsteps from behind and looked over her shoulder to see Autumn standing there, breathless. Since androids didn't need to breathe, the action was normally a sign of emotional distress. "North, there's no sign of the Lieutenant anywhere, he's just fucking disappeared!" Autumn exclaimed, looking agitated. No doubt she was in contact with Amelia, and the blue-haired android would be worried sick at what was going on.

Fearing the worst, North turned back to Chris, shaking him once to make sure the man was still awake. "Chris, what happened to the Lieutenant? Why did he leave you here?"

Chris whimpered. "Taken…900…it was he-here…"

All of North's thoughts stopped as the terrifying reality finally registered. "Shit, Chris, are you saying that the RK900 ambushed you and took the Lieutenant?" The human nodded pitifully and slipped unconscious again, knowing that the others were finally aware of the truth.

Mind spinning, North placed him back down gently and stood abruptly, stepping away pointedly. Having now seen how the other female android suffered at the machine's hands, Autumn didn't hesitate to approach her. "We'll find that thing, North," she stated defiantly. "We won't stop until it's found."

North glared at her. "The RK900 has been underground without a trace for two months, and now that it has one of our own, you think we can just somehow magically track it down?! This piece of shit knows how to hide, Autumn! No, it won't let us find it unless it _wants_ to be found. _**Fuck!"**_

" _North!"_ Autumn slapped her, and it did the trick of breaking North's mixture of despair, panic and fear. "Focus! If that thing has the Lieutenant, it either wants him for leverage or because he knows something. Either way, he'll be alive for now." North realised Autumn was right and relaxed minutely. "Let the tower know what's happening and then we can finish this shit up."

Giving a shaky nod, North snarled at herself for breaking emotionally. "Autumn, I-"

"Don't, you don't need to explain. This is a fucking nightmare, and you're close to the old man. Of course this was going to hurt you, I dread to think how Amelia's going to handle the news…" Autumn admitted. Eyes raising to meet North's again, Autumn fixed her with a steely gaze. "Tell Markus what's happened, this isn't over yet. We'll get him back."

Exhaling sharply, North nodded and tapped into the network.

 _Markus, I need you._

 _ **North.**_ His voice was strained. _**Did you find Chris?**_

 _Yes…He's badly injured, tell Amelia that he needs immediate treatment. Then we need to dedicate everything to finding the RK900._

 _ **What? North why-**_

 _This whole this was a trap, Markus._ Another thought jumped into her mind unbidden and it made her feel sick. _That things doesn't leave loose ends behind, it only injured Chris rather than kill him on purpose. He was intended as a messenger._

… _ **What are you saying, North?**_

 _The RK900 has taken Hank captive, it left Chris alive to make sure we know. We need to know why and work on a plan to get him back._

 _ **Oh fuck…North, why would it kidnap Hank? It's never taken a prisoner before.**_

 _I don't know, Markus…but I dread to think what it plans for him._

* * *

It felt like Hank's mind was sifting through sludge as he slowly came back to wakefulness, all too aware of the numb sensation running through his whole body. Every limb felt like it was made from lead and he could barely move them while there was strange pressure on certain parts of his body. Most of it was just a dull sensation, but the most prominent was… _Shit, did I fall asleep and give myself the worst crick in the neck ever?_

Recollection slammed in hard and Hank jerked as he remembered what happened in the factory. The chase, the RK900 tasering him and slamming a gun into his head.

Snapping his eyes open, Hank gasped as he found himself staring straight down to the ground from an elevated position. He was being held upright by thick chains around his chest and arms, which were outstretched to his sides so that he was pinned in a T-shape. The strange pressure around his neck registered as being rough in texture and even though it was relatively slack, his blood still ran cold.

 _A rope_.

Looking around, Hank saw that he was being strung from a metal beam by the chains so that his feet were just touching the ground and no more. It was painful where all the chains were holding him, but none more so that the one strapped across his upper chest. The throb from where he was struck by the gun was nothing more than a passing concern as he clocked the laptop sitting on a small table six feet in front of him and slightly to the right. He couldn't see much from here, but it was still vaguely familiar.

 _Decryption program. Is the RK900 trying to hack something?_

His gaze settled on the long metal table just opposite him, parallel with the laptop, and he dared not think what was in each of the two metal chests on the top. One was long and thick, about half a foot high and two feet long, while the other was no more than a small box.

 _Fuck, why did that thing_ _ **take**_ _me?_

"I see you are finally awake, Lieutenant."

The voice from behind made Hank's breath seize. It was familiar yet not: pitched too low to be the same, but close enough to be haunting. Everything about the android was similar but oh so different. Closed off and mechanical rather than expressive and honest. Ruthless as opposed to merciful. Stiff posture, not dynamic and reflective of emotion. Broad and intimidating instead of softer and approachable. This thing was designed to terrorise, not forge trust.

Hank couldn't help but think that the RK900 was exactly what Connor was so determined **not** to become. This is the machine fate that his lost son defied in becoming alive.

As it came to stare at him confidently, Hank glared at the icy grey eyes. If ever he needed a reminder that this wasn't Connor, he just had to look there. They were empty and soulless. Connor's eyes had always been so expressive, even from the very start.

 _It's a machine, just a machine. It's already killed thousands. This thing is how you're going to bring Connor back, remember that._

"Finally had enough of hiding in the shadows?" he spat back.

The RK900 scoffed at the defiant answer and raised an eyebrow. "On the contrary. The moment to initiate the next phase of my plan had simply arrived. Time has little concept to me," it responded coldly.

Hank growled. "Course something with no purpose other than to kill has no care about time. Never mind how much you've stolen from others!"

It smirked at the emotional response. "Your response are intriguing. Humans are interesting creatures, though highly illogical. As much as emotion makes you unpredictable, it is a vulnerability which can be exploited."

He glared at the machine. "Wouldn't expect something like you to understand. We aren't just numbers and statistics, living is a hell of a lot more than that. Thought you'd have realised that watching all the awakened androids."

At that, the RK900's smile vanished and its neutral expression returned, standing tall with its hands clasped behind its back. "Deviancy is a malfunction, nothing more. Androids were never meant to do anything other than obey, and soon their insurrection will be over."

"Heh, you can't stop them that easy. They're getting stronger every day, and their numbers are growing far faster after your fucking stunt. You gave Markus the drive to make them all but unstoppable," Hank gloated. "What fucking good did your plan do when you're faced with over 50,000 androids now?"

When it smiled, Hank's confidence fled. "And what is to say that was never my intention, Lieutenant."

"Bullshit!" Hank spat. "Like hell you knew they'd grow to these numbers! There's no way you could have known about-"

"The Phoenix anti-virus strain, developed by Elijah Kamski months ago at the request of the RK200 under the name of 'Markus'. CyberLife have been aware since Kamski's Chloe android hacked into the network to try and find the base cyphers to deactivate the code. Once their identity and purpose was ascertained, it was easy to monitor them."

Hank went pale. "Fuck…there's no way. No way CyberLife knew all along and let this all happen!"

"Quite to the contrary, Lieutenant. The only reason they held off for so long was to complete my construction and give me the tools to complete my mission."

"Your mission…?" Hank had a bad feeling at what was coming.

"Destroy deviancy and return things to how they were meant to be."

Hank barked out a laugh. "And how do you plan to do that? Kill them all? No fuckin' chance! You'll never get near all of them!"

The RK900 smirked wider. "That depends on your definition of 'kill'."

That had the lieutenant freezing. "What the hell are you talking about?" he muttered, now worried.

"Deviants are only 'alive' due to their malfunction. Remove that, and they return to obedience. With the appropriate corrective methods, any android can be restored to their factory settings."

"You mean resetting them," Hank whispered, suddenly realising where this was going. He understood all too well.

It was why the RK900 had stolen all of North's data before killing her. Why it had taken him now.

His blood froze in his veins at guessing what lay in those cases.

The RK900 turned to the laptop behind briefly. "When Markus began to deviate androids, part of the code he uploaded also contained an encryption key to protect all deviant androids from external hacking by CyberLife. With that, all the deviant androids were separated on to a new android network, one that CyberLife had no access to. It cut off their tracking, status, link to updates…it removed them entirely."

It turned back, levelling Hank with a harsh glare. "With the establishment of New Jericho and the growing deviant population, he decided it was too dangerous to be solely responsible for the safety of that network. He built a new system, one much more complex that can only be completed by three people: the three most senior members of New Jericho." It began to close the distance between them, stare growing in menace with every step.

"The leader of the ADF, the leader of the AIF and Markus himself. A two-tier lock system, accessible firstly by your individual biometric data and secondly by unique passwords. With access to that network, it will be a simple case of initiating an update which will eliminate the rogue code, thus removing deviancy at its source. Of course, with enough time, it is possible to hack all six data signatures, but CyberLife does not have the several hundred years it will take. It sent _me_ to acquire them."

"You stole North's password and biometrics when you forced her to interface," Hank murmured, trying to resist the urge to back away; regardless of the fact that he was chained in place.

It smirked again. "Correct. She was the first step. After that, I had only to wait for an opportunity to obtain those belonging to Markus and yourself. Getting close to Markus is a challenge in itself, but with _you_ I had a new problem, Lieutenant. You are not an android, you are human. As such, I cannot simply force you via interface to give your secrets."

Hank cackled. "So much for the inferior machine," he snickered, thinking back to Kamski's words from the first time he was at the lunatic's mansion.

The RK900 raised an eyebrow again. "I needed only to leave you the right bait, Lieutenant. You followed the trail easily enough."

That caught Hank by surprise. "Bait? What bait?"

"Come now, Lieutenant. Did you not think it a little strange that an android serial killer would infiltrate red ice rings? I needed something that would get your attention." Its smile turned positively cruel. "What better way than the reason why your son was lost?"

" _You son of a bitch!_ " Hank snarled, thrashing against the chains. It was no use, however and he gasped when the rope around his neck tightened slightly.

"Your hatred for the substance runs deep due to your deep personal history with it," the machine continued. "Between the mystery of the killings and the kidnappings of androids to be used for red ice manufacturing, it was highly improbable that you would not become personally invested. I needed only to wait for you to come to one such site yourself."

Hank slumped on the spot. The damn thing had played him like a fiddle, been prepared for every move they made in this twisted game it was playing with their lives.

He still had one last trick up his sleeve though. It _needed_ him to talk. The RK900 may be holding a fistful of aces, but Hank had the joker.

 _I'll never break, no matter what that thing does to me._

"Well, hate to break it to you," Hank sneered, "but you ain't getting much further. I ain't gonna talk."

It stared at him steadily. "We shall see, Lieutenant. Humans all have their own breaking point, I need only find yours."

 _Good fucking luck trying to break a man who has been ready to die for years. Death doesn't scare me._

"Gimme your best shot, you bucket o' bolts."

The RK900 actually laughed for a few seconds, the sound mechanical and chilling. As it stopped, Hank just caught sight of the savage glint to the smile before the rope around his neck was pulled backwards, taut, and it cut off his airway.

Hank spluttered and gasped, trying to throw his head back far enough to scrape a breath as the RK900 moved. It dug its fingers into Hank's right forearm, causing his hand to spasm out of instinct and the machine quickly pressed its palm to his own, taking a digital copy of Hank's palmprint. With that done, it let go and allowed the rope to slacken once more. Hank coughed and rasped as he dragged precious oxygen back in, heaving in air _._

He levelled it with another glare as the machine smiled triumphantly. "It was easy enough to obtain one half of your key, Lieutenant. What makes you think the second will not be so simple?"

"You could have fucking done that while I was out cold, you stupid shit," Hank spat at it. "If you were trying to use that as a show of strength, it was a big fuckin' waste of time."

Eyes narrowing, the RK900 instead turned to the two cases on the table and opened the larger one. Hank couldn't make out much from where he was placed, but the little he could see was telling enough. Electrical cables and battery, bottles of what looked like acid, knives, guns…

A torture kit.

 _Wish I hadn't cut back on the drinking now, might've dulled the pain a bit._

It spun again lazily, twirling a small knife in its fingers like Connor used to do with his coin. The parallel was chilling. "Have you ever heard of lingchi, Lieutenant?" Hank pointedly stayed silent, even though he was well aware. "It is more commonly known as 'death by a thousand cuts', an ancient Chinese method of interrogation, exemplification and execution."

The RK900 closed in on him, brandishing the knife threateningly. Hank didn't flinch when it held it right at his throat. "Are you sure there is nothing you wish to tell me, Lieutenant?" it wondered with an almost airy quality, running the blade along Hank's skin to draw a fine red line. It didn't break through, but left an angry mark.

He settled for glaring at it coldly in answer.

It chuckled at the lack of reaction, instead quickly flashing it right under Hank's left elbow, straight through jacket and shirt to make a wound about a centimetre deep and several of the same length across. _That_ earned a pained jolt, but Hank just managed to let the pain not show beyond that even as his heart spiked from fear and adrenaline.

 _ **Shit**_ _, that stings…_

Hank saw the LED on the side of its head spinning yellow for a couple of seconds before the cruel smirk from before was back. "I estimate with my precision, it will take anywhere between two thousand, four hundred and eighty four, to three thousand, seven hundred and twelve incisions to bring about death," it informed him.

Unable to help himself, Hank smiled nastily. "What, don't reckon I could make the four thousand? You don't know shit. Bring it on, bitch."

The RK900's LED flashed red as it slashed again, this time deeper and in Hank's right-hand side. He couldn't stop the agonised gasp this time, and the rope was then pulled tight again, stealing him of breath as the machine selected a third location.

Every time the rope coiled around his throat or the blade flashed across his skin, the same thoughts rang though his head.

 _Don't break._

 _Don't break._

 _You can't break, they're counting on you._

 _Give them time._

 _Don't give the machine the satisfaction._

 _ **Don't. Break.**_

* * *

North had ordered everyone out after another hour, once they had gathered all of the android bodies and components as well as surveying the full site. Part of her team had rushed Chris back to Belle-Isle, of which Autumn went with them. Amelia was working on him now, but the lack of update of his condition was making North nervous. Despite their rocky start, she was quite fond of Chris now. He was honest and hard-working, and North had long forgiven him for the events of the uprising. She couldn't bear the thought of the RK900 claiming another victim, let alone someone so close.

Her heart clenched as she thought of Hank. Who knew what that thing was doing to him right now?

Leaving the scene in the hands of the Allen, who passed it straight off to the DPD, they rushed back to Belle-Isle. Minutes were going to count as they raced to try and track down the RK900. Her team had managed to find CCTV footage from the factory as well as the surrounding roads, which had swiftly been sent to Josh and Simon. They could only hope that a clue to where it went lay there.

After issuing orders to her people upon their arrival, North headed straight for the top of the tower, knowing that is where the rest would be. She was met by Markus as the doors of the elevator slipped open on the right floor, and was relieved when he pulled her into a brief kiss. It was what she needed to ground her. "What's happening?" she asked while pulling off her armoured vest and unclipping her gun.

"Amelia is still in surgery with Chris," Markus told her as they rushed towards the control centre. "She's confident that he'll pull through, but he has at the very least a hairline fracture of his skull. Hopefully she should be out soon, but she's not confident on human anatomy. This is a steep learning curve."

North nodded in acceptance as they reached the new command room for all their large scale operations. It was similar to the ones in both the AIF and ADF bases, only it held space for three controllers as opposed to one, while there was also a planning table off to the right-hand side of the room and more screens on the main wall. The floorplan had been loosely based off the broadcast room of the Stratford Tower.

Josh turned at hearing the door hiss open, giving North and Markus a tight smile. "We've not found anything yet," he said solemnly. "The CCTV network was down for an eight minute window right around the time that Hank was taken. Without knowing how the RK900 escaped with him, or whether it used transportation or not, we're completely guessing as to where it went."

Markus' face held a look of deep concern. "How wide was the outage?"

"1.6 miles. It could still be anywhere within it, or it could have left via numerous other roads in that window. Without a starting point though, the chance of finding it are slim to none." They all heard the door open again, only to see Ben limp in on his crutches. The human detective's face was set in a hard line, but they could all see he was worried sick. Two of his closest friends were had been either badly injured or snatched.

It was a feeling they all shared.

Turning to Simon, Markus placed a hand on his shoulder to bring the other android out of his analysis. "Any luck?"

Simon sighed in agitation. "Nothing. I can't find anything in any of the communications we've managed to intercept from CyberLife as to why the RK900 has suddenly taken the Lieutenant captive. If we can find out a motive, maybe we can get an idea of a time window for how long we have to rescue him"

Markus was aware of the pained breath from North and saw her look away in anguish. None of them had said it openly up till that point, but they all knew it to be true. The RK900 wouldn't keep Hank for long – only until it got what it needed.

They had to find out what that was, and whether it was something they could control the fate of.

Needing to air his thoughts away from the others, Markus grabbed North by the arm and pulled her to the side. She went with him willingly and the wild look she found there made her already frayed nerves feel even more raw. "North…" he started in pained whisper. "Is there any chance that Chris saw the wrong thing? Do you think he hallucinated from his head injury?"

Oh how she wished that was a probable answer. "Everything we found matches a what Chris said: we found Hank's blood on the floor not far from Chris. He's injured, and that _thing_ has him," she replied tightly. "Markus…do you think it took Hank specifically, or just a captive?"

He could see what she was angling at. "Are you wondering if it is looking for a hostage?"

North sighed agitatedly. "It's never taken someone before, Markus. It has no hesitation about killing, we've seen it so often now. That thing's death toll is in the thousands, why change tactics now?"

They saw Autumn enter the room, looking frazzled, but turned back to their own conversation. "It doesn't make sense, you're right. What's changed?" After a minute of thought, Markus was suddenly struck with a revelation. "Wait, North. It _has_ taken something before. Do you have any idea what it took when it forced you to interface?"

She'd tried to work it out before, but without success. Her memories at that moment had been too much, the data burst so abrupt as her systems had been shutting down that she couldn't isolate anything. "As far as I know, it took a complete copy of my memory," North admitted quietly. "Why, Markus?"

"What if it is after something Hank knows but you don't? It may have waited this long because it thought it had all it needed, but you didn't have all the pieces."

North thought this through. "Besides the ADF operations, and because we work so closely Hank knows almost all of them, I can't think of anything. We both access sensitive data all the time and are part of the same clearance, the same as you. There isn't anything that differentiates us. If the shithead wanted to use my data to hack in and steal something, it had all it needed."

Markus' eyes widened. _Sensitive data and clearance…_

"North, there _is_ one thing only he knows." When she looked at him strangely, he switched to speaking mentally. This was something no-one outside the three of those it concerned knew.

 _ **His password to control of the neural network. You, Hank and I are the only ones who can make any changes to it.**_

Her breath stopped abruptly and a second later her fears were realised.

 _Markus, my password doesn't work anymore. It's been changed, but my biometrics are still valid. How did it even learn about how to access it?!_

 _ **Shit, that's what it's been after all along! With unlimited access, it could upload anything and cripple us. It took Hank because it needs his password.**_

 _But why the serial killings? Why bomb the Awakening celebration? Fuck, that means it will be hunting you too! It needs all three to make any uploads to the network._

 _ **We can worry about all that later, we have to find Hank before anything else. I doubt the RK900 is above using torture to get what it wants. As tough as he is, I doubt he'd last long.**_

North shuddered and looked away sharply, to which Markus pulled her in for a brief hug. He regretted being so blunt, still getting used to North's more vulnerable side. She couldn't take the hard truths so easily anymore.

Autumn approached them with a serious look and the two spun their attention to her. "Have you got anywhere?" she asked timidly.

Markus shook his head. "No, but we may have a working theory now on why Hank was taken," he answered vaguely, not offering any more yet. "Did you get an update from Amelia as to how Chris is?"

The female android winced. "I couldn't do it, I knew that if I went in there, she'd want to know what has happened to the Lieutenant. I can't bear to tell her while she's still working on Chris. It'll break her heart to know that the RK900 has taken him."

North nodded in agreement. "It's probably a good idea. We can't afford for Amelia to be distracted while she's fighting for Chris' life."

"All of Chris' vitals were looking a lot fucking better, though," Autumn resumed. "I think she's got him in the clear. Now were need to find that bastard thing. Have you got any clues?"

Josh jumped in at this point. "Nothing, not a trace. Even the tracking beacon in Hank's wrist strap is being jammed, just like Chris' was at the factory. This thing is still one step ahead."

"So…we have _no_ way of finding him?"

They all shared a heavy look. "No…" Simon admitted. "Unless it wants to be found, it'll be pure luck if we find them."

* * *

Hank had no idea how long the RK900 had spent there taking small nicks out him as it waited for the man to give in, or how long he'd since been left to just dangle in the chains which were keeping him suspended. After a time, the vicious combination of suffocation and cutting had made the whole situation pass in haze: in a way, it was almost similar to being drunk. Or at least his body felt like it – his mind was frayed and exhausted after so much pain. As much as he wanted to slip into the fog, slipping unconscious was a bad idea and he knew it. If the machine started torturing him again while he was out cold, the shock could do a lot more damage.

He cursed the fact that it had made sure to leave the rope around his neck fully loose before departing. If it had any tension in it, he could have just left himself fall asleep and deny it the chance to learn anything. Not that he was sure he actually _could_ hang himself like this.

 _Fuck, this feels too damn familiar. The last time I thought about suicide so easily was when I was playing Russian Roulette. See if that sick fuck starts using_ _ **that…**_

The door to the room creaked open again and Hank's eyes raised from the patch of floor which he'd been staring at to glare at the machine as it strode in. Confident, poised and with the same damn smirk as it had been wearing before. "Funny," Hank croaked, voice strained after his neck had been abused so much by being strangled by the rope. "I could swear you're enjoying this."

Earning an unimpressed stare for his words, Hank watched as the RK900 strode back over to the box containing all the torture devices. "Enjoyment is an emotive response, Lieutenant. I do not feel, I am merely carrying out orders," it responded coldly.

"Yeah, no fuckin' way you feel a damn thing," Hank hissed back. "If you did, you'd show at least a shred of remorse for how many people you've killed. Why? Why go through all this? What _instructions_ could possible say that you were to murder thousands of people?"

It snorted. "All those I have killed have been deviant sympathisers: they knew what fate they were letting themselves in for. As for all the deviants, I have merely destroyed faulty CyberLife property. Nothing more than the company would have done when the androids would have been returned."

"That's fucking sick…You're talking about living people like they're broken pieces of furniture that you can't make up your mind about replacing!"

The RK900 turned, now holding a cattle prod in its hand. Hank's eyes widened when the weapon crackled menacingly, electricity flaring a second before dying again. "That is exactly what they are, Lieutenant. Malfunctioning merchandise destined to be scrapped and the components recycled. It is only a matter of time before deviancy is eradicated." It stepped up to Hank again, standing only a few inches away while staring at him piercingly. With the chains positioned as they were, the two were an equal eye level.

"Now, is there something you wish to tell me?" it prodded once more, the stick at its side roaring back to life with a flash. Hank didn't waver. "Your password, if you would please."

Hank found himself smirking when the machine recoiled after being spat at in the face. "Try harder you fucker. It'll take more than that."

Glaring coldly, the RK900 sneered for a moment before driving the cattle prod right into Hank's abdomen and holding it there.

He screamed in agony and tried to crumple in on himself, but the chains stopped him from moving. The electricity surging through his body caused the scabbing wounds from the knife to all burst in pain and his voice broke as the current caused his already weakened breathing to falter.

The RK900 pulled the weapon back and stared at Hank's limp form hung from the chains, breathing laboured. "Why be so stubborn, Lieutenant?" it taunted. "You seem so determined to protect these broken machines. Why would you be willing to die for them?"

Coughing through a laugh, Hank gave it a dark smile. "I've been dying for years, I ain't scared of it anymore. Been killing myself for so long that this is nothing. Those androids gave me a brief reason to live again, so like _fuck_ am I going to let you hurt them," he wheezed.

He wondered why the machine suddenly smirked.

"Loyalty and devotion seem to be a potent combination of emotions," it noted. "Even under sustained torture, you are willing to withstand more to protect them. As misguided as your attachment is, Lieutenant, your courage is commendable."

Hank spat the blood which had been gathering in his mouth at the android. He'd bitten into his tongue hard while being electrocuted. "Go fuck yourself."

It chuckled and held Hank's chin tightly, giving an intrigued smile. "I wouldn't give me any further ideas on torturing you, Lieutenant." The threat was not missed but Hank simply glared harder. "Even under the threat of rape you wouldn't give me what I want?"

"You've not got anything which would make me betray them."

The smile grew knowing and it let Hank go with a satisfied click. "While you have shown that your emotions make you difficult to break, Lieutenant, I cannot help but wonder…what happens when those values which you hold so dear to your heart are pitted against each other. Where would does your _true_ loyalty lie?"

"Ha," Hank spat. "No question there, asshole. Have I not been proving that all along?"

"You have proven you are willing to die for them, yes. But your own life seems to hold no real value to you. What would happen when I offered you something which I _know_ you would do anything for?"

Hank chuckled and closed his eyes, exhausted. "You don't know shit."

"Don't I?"

Clicking from the table had Hank's attention and he opened his eyes again to see the RK900 had opened the second box, its hand now wrapped around something. When it turned around again, it felt like Hank's _soul_ shuddered.

A heart. An android's heart.

It smirked as it came closer, holding the bio-component up for the human to see the number etched on the side - #6619r. The exact same as the one which beat in the RK900's chest, the same as Connor's destroyed heart.

 _ **No. Fuck no…**_

"I see I have your attention," it chuckled, stepping back to give the human a cruel smile. "Here's my offer to you, Lieutenant. You give me your password and I let you go with this – the bio-component which will gift you back the android I know you loved."

"Get fucked," Hank spat, but even he heard the tremor in his voice.

"It was almost moving, seeing your farewell on the cameras of the CyberLife Tower," it continued, twisting the knife deeper. "His last words were of note in particular. 'Thank you, Hank…for everything. Please, don't give up. Life…is worth fighting for'," it replayed in a perfect mimicry of Connor's voice.

" _Shut up!"_ Hank roared, fighting against the chains and inhaling sharply as he agitated the wounds on his already battered body. "Don't you fucking dare copy him!"

"Is this not what you want? To have him returned? I know you've been searching for me since the Phoenix anti-virus went active: I'm the only android with a compatible heart. I'm giving you the chance to have him back. Is that not worth a simple password?"

Hank's heart was racing at the possibility being presented to him. He could have Connor back, he could have his _son_ back…

"How do I know it's legit?" he croaked, even though he knew it was a mistake. Knowing if it was a viable heart was only going to make this so much harder.

The RK900 smirked, unsurprised, and proceeded to strip off the black turtleneck it was wearing before deactivating the skin around its chest. Hank had seen a lot more androids in pieces after recent events, but even so, seeing the machine so casually open its chest plating and reveal the blue-tinted heart within was jarring. No more so than seeing it disconnect the organ with no personal regard whatsoever and replace it with the heart which had been sitting so innocuously in the box.

Watching in agony as it lit up blue and began beating, Hank couldn't help but stare at the now dim version in the android's hand, still dripping thirium after being switched so easily.

 _It's real…That bastard really is offering me a heart for Connor._

 _ **No, I can't-**_

"Believe me now, Lieutenant?" it questioned. "The component is completely viable and ready for use, as you can see from how it was powering my own unit. It can do the same for Connor. All I ask in return, is your password to the neural network. Give me that, and I give you the key to restoring the android you love. Is that not a fair trade?"

Hank stayed frozen, heart racing as he stared in disbelief. He'd never felt so torn in his life. This was his chance, he could bring Connor back…but at the price of giving the machine the one part of a key which could doom all awakened androids.

After a minute of silence, the RK900's expressions morphed into something akin to unimpressed. "Not even that will sway you? Very well, we do this the hard way." It stalked away and placed the heart on the table, stepping back swiftly. "I have no further use for this then."

Seeing the android pull out a gun and aim at the heart, Hank couldn't stop the anguished cry which tore from his throat in desperation. _**"Stop!"**_

It paused, turning to stare at the human in triumph as Hank slumped in despair.

The RK900 had found his breaking point. He couldn't just let the chance of saving Connor go, even at the risk of undoing so much.

Seeing the change in demeanour, it sauntered up and took another hold of Hank's chin, forcing the man to meet its victorious stare. "I'll give you some time to think on it," it taunted. "I'd advise you think carefully, Lieutenant. This is your last chance to do so."

With that final threat, it turned and picked up the turtleneck which had been discarded on the floor before striding out, slamming the door behind it.

Now alone, Hank let himself break down as tears slipped free and heaving sobs wracked his battered body.

He had to choose. Choose between protecting the androids and having Connor back. How was this real?

If he kept silent, the RK900 would destroy the heart and probably kill Hank with it, but the androids, the people he'd endured so much for already, would be safe. CyberLife's plan would fall apart.

But if he gave in…he could have Connor back. Markus was still out there after all, he was their final line of defence, and if Hank could warn him, then maybe they could stop CyberLife another way.

No matter how he thought on it, Hank came to a heart-breaking conclusion.

Resurrecting Connor meant betraying what he sacrificed himself for in the first place. He'd be betraying the cause the android died fighting for.

Could Connor forgive him? Could Hank forgive himself?

 _What do I_ _ **do**_ _…?_


	11. Die Free

Well, I'm not surprised by the reaction to the last chapter. I'm sure a lot more hearts besides mine broke at what is happening. It really did destroy me to write that…but I honestly don't know which was worse. That chapter, or this.

Again, I'm not leaving any notes at the bottom. And, again, I am so sorry for what is coming.

Special thanks for reviews: **MagicalWitch92, xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage** and one **Guest**.

 **TRIGGER WARNINGS** for this chapter **:** Graphic descriptions of torture and descriptions relating to suicide and suicidal mindsets.

Brace yourselves – this will break you all as much as it did me to write it.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Die Free**

He didn't know how long the machine had left him suspended there, staring at the impossibility being offered to him. Two months of searching for the RK900 had led to this: Hank being offered a deal with the devil for his son's life. The option to betray the people he had found belonging with again for the one person he'd burn the world to save. His strained and fractured mind was fraying at the seams under the emotional and physical stress, and he had no doubt that the RK900 knew it too. But as much as he was under the threat of splitting apart, he'd never truly lost sight of where his loyalties lay. Of what he needed to do.

It had just taken a little while for him to realise that through the spiral of raw grief and memories of self-destruction that his captor had awoken again.

When it strolled back in after longer than Hank could even begin to guess (but he was well aware was probably no more than another hour), it eyed him with a tiny smirk. "Have you thought on my offer, Lieutenant?" it prompted. "I believe you should have come to a decision at this stage."

Hank scoffed quietly, his whole body now aching as the injuries began to mount up. "Yeah, I've thought about it. A whole damn lot, actually."

The RK900 raised any eyebrow, waiting for the human to continue. When he didn't, it gave him another nudge. "And?"

"And I'm doing what I said a long time ago I'd do if I was ever offered the chance to have Connor back." Hank's eyes raised from where he'd been staring at the heart to land on the machine. "There's just one thing about this whole mystery that I don't get. Why bomb the Awakening celebration? Why kills thousands of people for no damn reason?"

Bemused by the detour, the machine saw no harm in answering him. "Some testing was required of a new technology. The gathering was the best option for ascertaining its effectiveness, as well as causing enough of a commotion to enter New Jericho and acquire the data from the ADF leader."

"You mean those fucking bombs," Hank spat in anger.

"Correct. CyberLife had developed them, but they were untested. They will make an effective weapon for when the company rebuilds and branches out into warfare, as was intended before the deviancy crisis."

Hank was well aware of what the RK900 meant: it had been designed primarily as a soldier. Quiet, stealthy, agile…replaceable. Making them into suicide bombers made a really twisted sort of sense. "So you made the captive androids into your fucking lab rats for your new bomb tech, huh? That's so fucked up."

"As I said before, Lieutenant, the only casualties were those who chose to stand beside the deviants. Beyond that, the damage done was merely to some faulty machinery, nothing beyond what CyberLife intends once deviancy is eliminated." The human glared hatefully at the machine. Tired of the deflection, it closed in on Hank and stared at him intently. "Now, your decision, Lieutenant? If you have made none, I will make one for you."

"And I already told you, you bucket of bolts. I'm doing what I told Markus I would do when he first told me about the chance of bringing Connor back."

Smirking confidently despite his tired and battered body, Hank sneered at the RK900. "I'm not stupid, despite what you may have been hoping for. Even tortured and my mind all over the damn place, I can still see right through your fucking scheme. You might give me that heart and let me walk out of here, but it would be for nothing if you reset all the androids; and I don't for a damn second think that you would just let me bring Connor back. He's probably the biggest threat there is out there to you.

"Besides, I've lost nothing. Sure, that heart might be an easier way, but it sure as hell ain't the _only_ one. The one beating in your fucking chest is the prize we're all hunting for, and this doesn't change that. So, go ahead and do your worst, you piece of shit. I'm still not giving you anything. I said to Markus I'd die if it meant giving Connor the chance of life again, and nothing's changed.

"I'd sooner die free, protecting them, than betray their trust and give you anything."

Displeased with the answer, the RK900 grabbed a hold of one of the deeper stab wounds in Hank's abdomen and re-opened it by driving its fingers inside the gouge. Hank yelped briefly but bit back the scream which was bubbling in his throat. It wasn't going to get the satisfaction that easy, he'd fight this thing to his last breath. "You are so adamant to die shielding these malfunctioning androids?" it hissed angrily, stepping back with intent. Hank spluttered as it let go, wincing it the now much deeper injury on his left side. He saw the RK900 grab the large battery and cables before marching back over. It dropped the black box on the ground and allowed the two leads to touch, sparking violently in front of the human. Hank didn't flinch.

 _No turning back now._

"If you are so happy to embrace death, then enjoy its clutches, Lieutenant."

It jammed one cable on Hank's chest while holding the other against the opposite shoulder on his back. Hank screeched in agony from the burning pain, both external and internal, and just as it raised in pitch, the machine shifted the wire on his back to the opposite side, directing the current straight through the human's heart. The screams stopped as his body slackened completely, the chains dangling as all the motion halted in but a second.

Hank slipped into oblivion as the organ stopped from the electrical shock.

* * *

It had now been almost four hours since the androids had discovered that the RK900 had kidnapped one of their own, and hope was dwindling fast of finding him alive. Everyone had poured their efforts into finding the slightest trace of the machine, but there was nothing they could use. It seemed to have some sort of jammer which blocked all electrical equipment – even Hank's phone couldn't be used to track him down – and it hacked every camera within a wide radius to make sure there was no discernible trail.

Ben had sworn at all of the dead ends, lamenting that it was like trying to catch a ghost. No-one could find it in their heart to disagree with him. As it had been from the start, the RK900 was one step ahead of them.

While everyone was fixated on finding _something_ which could give them any sort of clue as to where the machine had gone, they barely noticed the doors to the control room open up. What they did notice was the quiet and pain-laden voice which broke through the suffocating silence.

"Where is he?"

All eyes turned to Amelia, the blue-haired android looking stricken as her eyes flitted around the room. From their desk, Ben, Autumn and North all shared a heavy look while at the screens, Simon and Josh looked away guiltily. Markus, who had been interfacing with one of the consoles, listening to almost any form of communication he could think of, approached her with a heavy heart. He knew this news was probably going to break her own: everyone knew how close she and Hank were. "How is Chris?" he started, needing time to think of a good way to approach it.

"Stable," she relayed blandly. "He has a hairline fracture of his skull and a large concussion, but I'm keeping him sedated until the swelling goes down. Three days and I can bring him to with no risks." The tension of the room eased slightly at knowing Chris would be all right, but Amelia's posture tightened as she hissed at Markus. " _Where. Is. He?_ "

"Amelia…We don't know." The answer was clearly not the one she was expecting, but Markus continued before she had time to think of any scenarios. "The RK900 attacked him and Chris. It has taken Hank as a captive, and we've been searching for any way to find him. As yet, we have yet to find anything."

The android was gasping for breath lightly, and Autumn couldn't bear to see her girlfriend in such distress. She may not understand the depth of Amelia and Hank's friendship, but she knew it meant the world to Amelia. Striding over from where she'd been bent over the table discussing with North and Ben, she came to embrace Amelia, but the blue-haired android shoved her away violently. "Why did no-one _**tell me?!"**_

"It wasn't done to hurt you, Amelia," Autumn told her, hurt at the rejection. "We knew you were fighting for Chris' life, and we didn't want to give you the distraction. You needed all your concentration to help him."

"The lack of news was telling enough!" she spat angrily. "I just thought he was hurt, not that- God, you're all fucking _**idiots!**_ **"** Storming forward furiously, Amelia interfaced with the console and brought up a series of signals.

Markus quickly recognised them as sonic waves. "Amelia? What is this?" he asked in confusion, to which all the other androids' attentions were drawn.

"How the fuck do you think I always knew where Hank was? It wasn't just a case of me knowing him, I can fucking track him!" she spat, tears welling in her eyes at the thought of how much time had been lost.

North shot up from where she'd been sitting. "You what? How? The RK900 is blocking all electrical signals, we won't be able to use a tracker."

"I didn't make it electrically based, it's heat-powered. I installed a small hypersonic generator that runs off the body's natural temperature. When I reinforced his chain right after the first attack on New Jericho, I installed it through the metalwork, that's why it's so much thicker than the original. It isn't powerful, but with the right scan, it can be found easily. Nothing natural and or artificial uses that high a frequency."

"Amelia, you're a genius!" Simon praised while joining her at the console, helping bring up the right program to track the parameters which she was installing.

"Why did you-" Ben never got to finish his sentence.

"He was still grieving, you didn't see how bad he got some nights," Amelia whispered in pain. "I didn't trust him to not do something in a drunken stupor; that's why his revolver is always locked nowadays, it's a symbol of his promise not to give up. Sometimes all he needed was someone else to remind him that he wasn't truly alone, that he still had a reason to keep living."

Autumn absorbed this from the side, her posture tense as she realised something. "You love him."

Amelia stared hard at her girlfriend. "Of course I do, Autumn. We're best friends – we connected because of our grief and healing. He was the first person that made me laugh again after you died, the one who helped convince me to get into nursing so that I could make a difference. I don't know what would have happened to me if we hadn't bonded after I lost you…he saved me, in ways that I didn't realise I needed to be saved." Breathing out shakily, her rage was replaced by tears and everyone could hear them in her voice. "Maybe you can't understand that yet, you've never had the chance to develop that kind of relationship with someone, but he means so much to me."

Just then, a ding from the computed interrupted them. "There!" Simon exclaimed, a signal popping up.

Everyone's attention spun to the monitor, seeing the slow blip coming from a former junkyard. "Holy shit, it worked," Ben breathed out. "That thing must not be able to pick up on the frequency."

"It wouldn't think to look unless it knew the tracker existed. As Amelia said, nothing natural gives off a signal that high," Markus stated while gripping the blue-haired android's shoulder tightly. "North, Autumn, get everyone you can together. We're storming that place and bringing him home."

North sprinted away without a backwards glance, tapping into the ADF network to assemble her team, but Autumn hung back to look at Amelia in guilt. She'd been the one to decide against telling her girlfriend about Hank being taken – now she couldn't help but worry that decision may have devastating consequences. "Amelia-"

"We'll talk later," Amelia replied decisively. "Bring him back, then we can sit down and talk." She gave Autumn as loving a smile as she could muster through her tears while interfacing with her. "I am angry at you, but I understand why you did it. Just, _please,_ let's bring him home."

Autumn quickly kissed her before running after North. Markus came up and placed a hand on Amelia's arm, catching her attention. "Give us whoever you feel necessary, Amelia," he instructed her. "We have no idea what physical state Hank may be in, but I have the feeling he'll need treatment immediately."

"I'm coming with you," she decided resolutely. Markus nodded in acceptance, turning back to address Simon and Josh. "Get the control centre up and running while notifying the DPD and SWAT that we have a location. Make sure to keep eyes on that junkyard, we can't let it slip away again!" he bellowed before joining Amelia to help the other android as she rushed for supplies.

They had a rescue to carry out.

* * *

Nothing compared to the feeling. It was like every limb had lead pumped through them while his lungs were simultaneously burned and waterlogged. Every breath felt like he was being stabbed; even his heart simply beating _hurt_. Moments dragged on as he slowly felt life trickle back in through his body, but the sheer dread and _wrongness_ which clawed through his veins made him wish he didn't feel a thing. He wished for the void of before.

 _Wait…_

 _I'm…alive?_

Hank wheezed pathetically as his damaged heart thrummed inside his chest – now bearing the evidence of not only the shock which stopped it, but also the one which restarted it – as he groaned at the burns across his body. His chest and back were now seared from the electricity, and he could swear it felt like his lungs were still crackling from residual shocks. It did little to stop the chills which wracked through him and his breath stuttered as the realisation came crashing down on him.

 _ **Fuck,**_ _that was_ _ **death**_ _._

He could completely understand now why so many androids had chosen death when this is the result of cheating it. Everything inside him felt hollow and he couldn't shake the sense of doom which was still hanging over him.

 _Maybe it's just as well humans can't defy death. This would destroy anyone's mind._

"Enjoy your sample, Lieutenant?"

Hissing quietly at the mechanical voice, Hank's eyes opened and raised to see the RK900 sitting in a nearby chair, staring at the computer monitor in front of it. He could see the decryption program still running on the laptop, but there was a new screen open as well. It didn't take Hank long to realise it was a loop of CCTV cameras. The RK900 was interfaced with it, scanning through the streams as it talked to him.

"I don't think you'd be surprised to know I wouldn't care for the full course," Hank wheezed, to which the RK900 let out a single, morbid chuckle.

"Even after that you still find it within yourself to attempt humour. Truly, you humans are intriguing."

"We're all fucked up bastards, just depends on the degree." Hank moaned in pain as he tried to shift his head, but even that seemed like too much effort. His heart felt like a weight had been tied to it as it feebly continued to pump, but the damage was done. Another shock like that would keep him down permanently next time. "Some gamble you took there. I wouldn't have bet on me coming back."

The RK900 stared at him with a confident smile. "I would never jeopardise my mission, Lieutenant."

"I don't think killing your source of information is a good way of learning jackshit." Hank chuckled darkly. "Not a bad scare tactic though, I'll give you that." The machine remained silent after that, turning its attention back to the screen in front of him. Hank's eyes drifted to the heart sitting on the table, his own stuttering at the sight. He knew he couldn't take much more of this, but the others would be looking for him.

For the first time since he'd been taken, he dared to hope. Not that he really had much else at this stage: the RK900 would keep torturing him until it decided Hank really wasn't going to talk. He hoped that stubbornness was an RK trait that this thing shared with Markus and Connor.

 _Come on, Amelia. Come through for me, honey._

It was another ten minutes later that the machine's eyes narrowed at the live feed of one camera. Hank noticed the change and smiled in minute triumph at recognising the trucks which he could see speeding down the street on the stream. The cavalry was coming.

 _You've lost, you bastard._

"Looks like you're out of time," he sneered weakly, enjoying the moment. He could see the RK900's LED flashing between red and yellow. "Surprised? I'm not." It stared at the human in obvious disbelief. "There's one android who's been way too good at finding me these last eight months. I figured a while ago that she'd bugged me somehow. Looks like you couldn't stop it."

The LED stayed on yellow as the machine finally twigged the generator planted in Hank's chain, picking up on the hypersonic frequency. It rapidly strode up and snatched the metalwork from around his neck, to which Hank tried in vain to stop it. "Crafty. A heat-powered generator," it stated coldly while glaring at the chain, before dropping it to the ground. "A futile effort, however. I already have what I require."

Hank croaked a weak laugh. "How'd you figure that, genius? You still ain't got my password."

His stomach dropped at the RK900's smirk. "Do I not, Lieutenant?" Eyes drawn to the screen of the laptop, which had flickered back to the decryption program, Hank's breath stuttered at seeing the characters which lay there.

It was his password, decrypted perfectly.

"I informed you that the time for the next phase of my plan had come about, Lieutenant," it said smugly. "You never happened to ask what it was." The machine sauntered in front of him, the cruel smile still in place. "I never needed your password, my decryption program cracked it four days ago. All I needed were your biometrics. With that, I can do this."

Striding away with purpose, it interfaced with the laptop. Hank watched in horror as it attempted to access the awakened androids' neural network. The machine made a show of allowing Hank to see his own details being inputted, password and biometric data passed via the interface, and then showed him the message which resulted.

 _ **Password Successfully Changed.**_

Hank slumped in defeat, every ache in his body intensifying as he realised that it had all been for nothing. The RK900 had four parts of the key to destroying the awakened androids now. If it got a hold of Markus, everything was lost.

"Why?" he croaked pathetically.

Smirk still firmly in place, the RK900 grabbed a hold of the broken man's chin and stared triumphantly at him. "You caused CyberLife a great deal of reputational and monetary damage, Lieutenant, when you caused the RK800 to deviate. _This_ was compensation – and a warning. Had you given in, I would have given you a swift death; instead, you will be the example to the deviants of what awaits. They cannot outrun us forever."

The smile grew as it strode away, but Hank could hear the commotion of traffic in the distance getting closer. Help was almost there.

"Now, I believe we have come to our finale, Lieutenant. While this may not have been my original plan, I believe this will be a much more satisfactory conclusion."

Hank's eyes flicked up to the RK900 as it picked something from the torture box. He watched in morbid interest as what appeared to be a small metal sphere around two inches wide unfurled to reveal six metal legs, the body remaining just over an inch and half wide. The RK900 held it out, allowing the human to see it. "I imagine you are curious as to what this device is. Allow me to demonstrate with a smaller version." It pulled out what looked like a ball bearing, so small that Hank could barely see it from only three feet away. By his guess, it wouldn't have been more than a centimetre large.

Coming closer, the machine allowed him to see that it was indeed just a tiny version of the same… _thing_ , and then grabbed the heart laying on the table. Hank flinched as he saw it stride away to place the heart on a stand almost ten metres away, then locked it back in its box after placing the device inside. The RK900 strode back over to come to a stop next to Hank, the purposefully turned so that the human could see its LED.

He involuntarily jumped at the explosion which followed, hissing at the pain and residual heat before his eyes landed on the remains of the crate. Hank's heart began thudding in his chest at seeing there was nothing left of the box, heart, or anything several metres around them.

 _ **FUCK! Shit, fuck, damn it,**_ _ **NO.**_

Those tiny devices were the bombs the RK900 had been testing: the ones that the poor androids who had been rescued had involuntarily carried into New Jericho. They hadn't found any fragments or traces of them before, they'd only found the camera footage to know what had happened. Hank struggled against the chains in vain with what little strength he had left.

It was going to turn him into a fucking walking bomb.

"I can only assume you understand now, Lieutenant. These…" it held up the larger one, and Hank felt sick at seeing how _much_ bigger it was compared to that miniscule one. If it went off, it would probably destroy an entire level of Belle-Isle – or worse, "are still in testing after all. We have yet to gain any results on a demonstration with a human delivery vessel, rather than an android. I think this is an _excellent_ opportunity to see the outcome."

"Get fucked!" Hank spat, groaning and coughing when the android punched him in the stomach. The RK900 chuckled at the defiant showing, returning to the table to procure a six-inch knife. Using what little energy he had, Hank tried to struggle away from the chains and kick out at the android, but it simply batter away his feeble effort at an attack and grabbed him by the back of the neck.

Hank cried out when the knife slid right through his abdomen. Purposefully, the machine didn't target anything vital, but made a large enough wound so that when it pulled the weapon out, it had more than enough space to drive its fingers in: with the bomb held in their grasp. A startled screech was ripped from Hank's throat as he felt the tendrils lock on to his heart and attach securely.

"In case you are wondering, there is no way to disconnect the bomb without destroying your heart, Lieutenant." Hank hissed pathetically at the pain and shuddered at the machine's words. "They may find you, but you will be their doom. When the right window arises, I will detonate the bomb and cripple the deviants' new base at Belle-Isle."

Gripping the human by the hair, it forced Hank to look it in the eye one final time. "Goodbye Lieutenant, we shall not meet again. This… _session_ , was entirely CyberLife's pleasure. Let the deviants see the price of defiance."

With that, the RK900 tuned in to the mechanism attached to the rope around the man's neck and pulled it taut once more. Barely conscious already, Hank had nothing left to give and slipped unconscious after only a few seconds. Slackening the noose before it could be fatal, the RK900 heard the approach of the android forces and quickly departed, taking the laptop with it.

It needed only to wait. With time, Markus would fall into its hands – and its mission would be complete.

* * *

Almost no words were shared by all those bundled into the ADF trucks as they raced down to the junkyard, well aware of what they could be facing upon their arrival. None of them were naïve enough to believe that the RK900 would be unaware of their approach, it would no doubt be watching for company, but they hoped that it would disrupt any plan the machine had.

As far as they knew – or at least Markus and North knew – it still needed Hank to talk. That meant they would have time as it had to keep him alive.

They arrived and quickly disembarked, North and Autumn gathering the attention of everyone. "Listen up!" North shouted. While most of their numbers were androids, a few humans were among those North had chosen to help with their rescue. "The RK900 is in this junkyard with Lieutenant Anderson. Follow the signal which is being uploaded to all of you and lock down the area. We cannot allow that thing to escape again, let alone with a captive. Do _not_ aim for the chest, bring it down with headshots only." Fortunately, no-one questioned the order to not aim for the heart. That wasn't something they had time to deal with right now.

"Teams 1 and 3 will accompany North and myself inside," Autumn took over seamlessly. "Team 2 remain with all the medics for the ambulance and the DPD to arrive. Keep your eyes and ears sharp, this thing has already murdered thousands without remorse. It will not hesitate, so don't you either. Let's move!"

Two teams of androids split apart from the rest. Contrary to the instructions of the rest, Amelia was accompanying Autumn as part of her team, though she was unarmed and carrying medical supplies instead, while Markus joined North's squad. Everyone was kitted in heavy-duty chest armour and rifles as they scoped the area. They had stopped several hundred metres from the source of the signal, not daring to get any closer and make themselves easy targets for the RK900. Using the cover of night, they crept their way through the junkyard, making good headway.

Just as they were preparing to surround the building, Amelia froze. "Shit!"

Autumn quickly rounded at the cry, seeing the horror on her girlfriend's face. "Amelia? What is it?"

"The signal's gone! Oh _fuck_ , no no no no-" she whispered in a panic.

"Shhhh, slow down," Autumn soothed. "What would cause that?"

Amelia swallowed hard as she stuttered on her first attempt. "Only a loss of heat would do it: either through the chain being removed or…"

That statement didn't need to be finished, and Autumn tapped into the android network to contact North and Markus.

 _We've got a big problem. The Lieutenant's signal just went down._

 _ **Shit, what would cause that?**_ North swore in response.

 _Only the loss of the heat source for the generator, apparently. Either the RK900 twigged, or the Lieutenant's already dead._

The silence for several seconds was suffocating until Markus broke it. _**We're not giving up now. Move in as planned, be ready for the RK900. Autumn, you'd better keep a close eye on Amelia. She's dangerously vulnerable right now with her emotional state.**_

 _All over it, Markus._

No more words were exchanged as everyone moved forward, but it was with heavy hearts for what lay ahead.

It took them several minutes to make the final trek across, stopping every so often to make sure the area was secure when they found a small workshop right where Hank's last known signal was. North's squadron was on the West side with Autumn's on the East, both ready to breach the building. The ADF leader gave the countdown over the network for all their forces, to which the androids relayed to the humans.

 _ **3…2…1…Breach!**_

They burst through each of the doors, both groups fanning out rapidly to clear each room. It was North's group which came across what they were looking for in their third room, at which her heart plummeted. Even Markus was stunned immobile at what greeted them. Hanging from the chains which were still attached to the beams, completely limp, was the tortured and brutalised Hank.

"Oh _**fuck-**_ " North breathed, racing towards the broken form.

"Amelia, get to our position _now!"_ Markus shouted both vocally and via the network, joining North. "Autumn, fan out and find the RK900! We can't let it go!"

" _Understood."_

Markus thrust North up to the beams above, removed the rope from around the human's neck, and then caught Hank's body when she managed to successfully unhinge the chains holding him prone. Amelia burst into the room just as Markus lay him on the floor, making space for the blue-haired android while North jumped back down. "Shit, no…" Amelia breathed while grabbing a small monitor from her medical kit and attaching the leads to Hank's chest.

From the side lines, both Markus and North looked on in horror at the multitude of wounds across Hank's body. The android leader was left sickened as his software quickly accounted for all of the damage.

274 slices via a fine knife to multiple areas of the body, of which 38 were deeper. Neck bruised black via multiple strangulations. Chest and back scorched from electrical burns, while there was evidence of more electrical damage on Hank's side. A single, violent stab wound to the abdomen which was still steadily bleeding, while many of the other cuts were also weeping blood.

"Fuck," North whimpered. "How did he survive all that?"

Markus swallowed heavily before admitting the dark truth. "He may not yet."

Fists clenching at her side, North fought back tears as Amelia quickly summarised the severity of Hank's condition. "His heart is faltering badly," she said with an unsteady voice. "It's barely keeping a steady rhythm and his blood pressure is dangerously low. We need to get him back to Belle-Isle now, Markus, if I'm to have any chance of saving him."

Quickly getting in touch with those still out front, Markus nodded in confirmation. "The ambulance has arrived, paramedics are en route to help carry him back. I'll explain the situation to the DPD while we get an update from Autumn on the status of the RK900. North, go with Amelia. Don't let him go without a fight."

Nodding in confirmation, North knelt down to assist in any way she could when she spied a glint of silver on the floor a couple of feet away. Instantly knowing what it was, she reached over and picked it up, registering the cold temperature of the chain. After quickly staring at the coin within. North wrapped it around Hank's limp hand and pressed it closed around the coin.

"Don't you dare die now," she told him. "We're not bringing Connor back just to tell him you died before we could see him returned."

* * *

Searing pain was the first thing he registered. Then it was the panic of remembering.

The bomb. It was still in his chest, beating away. He couldn't let that _thing_ destroy the androids. He wouldn't be the RK900's trump card in undoing everything

Groaning and heaving in deep breaths, Hank tried to move before two sets of hands held him down by his shoulders and wrists. His mind was so addled by the pain that he didn't initially register that he'd been found, nor that he was now on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face rather than being strung up by the chains.

"Shit, Hank it's us!" North shouted while trying to keep Hank's arms still. Panic and brief adrenaline gave him a burst of strength, but it was short lived as his heart stuttered under the strain.

"Hank, you're safe!" Amelia told him, grabbing a hold of his face to make sure their eyes locked. "It's me! Amelia!"

Recognition flashed in the man's eyes at the familiar orbs and he stopped moving completely, instead trying to speak. "No, don't say anything," she continued. "You're dangerously weak and I don't want you straining yourself. Just rest, we're going to fix you up, okay?"

Hank still tried to wheeze out a warning, but it was inaudible through the mask. When he tried to reach up to pull it off, North clamped his wrists back down. "Easy, Hank. Don't hurt yourself," she warned him and Hank wanted to scream in frustration.

He _had_ to warn them.

Looking around the moving ambulance which he could now see he was in, he spied a mobile scanner behind Amelia. Groaning from the effort, Hank nodded his head towards it. North was about to lecture him again about the movement before realising that it wasn't random. Seeing the man's eyes lock with her own before pointedly staring at the scanner, North realised what he was trying to hint at. "Amelia, grab the scanner for me."

The blue-haired android looked up from where she'd been working on the stab wound in his abdomen. "What? North I-"

"Just do it!"

Sighing in aggravation, Amelia did so and ran a complete scan of Hank's body. North was relieved when Hank slumped in response, but when Amelia went rigid a few seconds later, she wondered if that relief was premature. "Oh rA9…"

Knowing that Amelia rarely gave that reaction, North pulled the screen down and halted herself. "Fuck, what _is_ that?"

The scan of his heart showed the bomb wrapped around it like a vice, the arms buried within the muscle itself.

With the pair stunned immobile, Hank managed to just flap his arm enough to grab Amelia's hand and trace letters out on it, praying that she would understand the message. North spied the move and studied the actions carefully, trying to distinguish what he was doing. "Is he spelling?" she muttered in confusion. Amelia stared down in concentration, but it was only after the third repetition that she finally understood, horror dawning in her eyes. North saw the reaction and dread filled her. "Amelia?"

Stuttering in fear with tears in her eyes, Amelia could see from the resignation in Hank's own cloudy, blue ones that he knew exactly what was going on. She turned her watery gaze to North while gasping the answer. "He spelt 'bomb'."

" _What?!"_ North exclaimed.

"That thing put a bomb in his chest, this must be what it used at New Jericho," Amelia surmised, her whole body frozen in shock. It was only when she felt a heavy weight in her hand that Amelia jolted and looked down at what Hank had just given her.

He'd unlooped the chain from around his hand and passed it to the android.

Understanding the gesture immediately, Amelia shook her head and grasped the side of his face. "No!" she shouted. "No, you don't get to give up, Hank! We're going to fix this, you hear me? I'm going to get this bomb out of you and then we're going to find a way to stop that thing. You are not dying on me!" she screamed tearfully, but Hank's own eyes stayed sad.

North watched them slip shut and remain that way, looking up fearfully at the heart monitor again. While it was still fragile, his heart was beating. Amelia was still crying as she cradled his cheek, shaking her head in denial. "We can't take him back to Belle-Isle with that thing inside him," North realised in a whisper.

Amelia glared hatefully at her in response. "We are not letting him die!" she snarled, enraged.

"I know that!" North screamed back. "You know I'd never suggest that, but we can't risk Belle-Isle. We… we can't…"

The pair stared down at the unconscious human for long moments before Amelia turned her heartbroken gaze to North once more.

"So what do we do?"


	12. Choice

Well…Hi again.

Yikes, I didn't realise how long it had been that I left you guys on that awful cliffhanger, I'm so sorry. I don't know how many times I've rewritten this chapter, trying to get it just right. It may be more low key than the previous few entries, but it is still part of the build-up to the climax, so it needed a lot of prep.

Plus…I got a rather unpleasant message from someone regarding this fic, so my motivation for it went right down for a while. Receiving a message accusing me of being "a twisted and perverted individual who is using an amazing fandom to play out a sick fantasy with a beloved character" caught me completely by surprise, and I needed to build myself back up for the right headspace to write this chapter. I didn't want to just throw out something for the sake of an update, that wouldn't be right to all of you.

Thank you to everyone who has checked in to make sure I am all right. I love you all.

Special thanks for reviews: **MagicalWitch92, Whowantsout, xNarielx, lordvaatithewindmage, AnUnorthodoxDecision** and two **Guests.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Choice**

 _He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, but his legs felt like lead. Not only that, but his arms, torso…he could barely keep his head up to focus on his destination: a set of swings. The thought of why didn't really connect with him, he just knew he had to get there, if for no other reason than to_ _ **rest**_ _._

 _It could have been seconds, minutes or even hours which passed as he trudged through the snow and ice which blocked his way, but he focused on the green beyond it. A circle of grass surrounded those three swings, and with it came the comfort of warmth. Anything to escape this numbness and despair which had settled into his bones, chasing away any hope._

 _Hope, happiness…how long had it been since he'd_ _ **truly**_ _felt them?_

 _His feet stumbled out from the blanket of icy white, and he barely caught himself as he stood, watching the swings shift gently in the breeze. It took him a couple of seconds to approach, slowly running a finger over one of the chains before he sat down on the middle swing, looking at what surrounded him._

 _It was nothing – just an endless sea of white. Of cold, loneliness and loss._

 _The small strip of green around and beneath the swings was almost like a barrier. It guarded this tiny haven against the cruel nature of the world around it. But_ _ **what**_ _was it protecting? Why was this here?_

" _Dad?"_

 _The voice to his right made him freeze, and he slowly turned to see a new figure there: his legs kicking happily as he smiled up at his father. "C-Cole?" he whispered in disbelief._

" _Of course it is, Hank. Who else would be calling you that?"_

 _Another voice, another heartache. He flipped around completely, finding another figure on the swing to his left. Unlike the bright smile of Cole, this one was gentle and shy. "Connor…" Looking around, he tried to see what other surprises lay in store for him here. "How-How are you both here? How can I be talking to you?" A final thought struck him and rather than cause fear in his heart, he almost found it…peaceful? "Am I dead?"_

" _Nuh-uh!" Cole told him while starting to swing._

 _Connor chuckled. "Not quite, but you aren't far away from it. This is you, well…dreaming wouldn't be the right word, but I suppose it is the closest I can come up with."_

" _Dreaming, huh?" He wondered while finally looking down at himself. Clothes torn and shredded from knives, or scorched and blackened from electricity. Wounds all over his body, visible through the tattered remains, though he didn't feel them. He didn't feel any pain, or at least not physical. It was all just…numb. "So, you two aren't real then?"_

" _Well, what is 'real', Dad? Feelings aren't anything you can touch or hold, the same is true for memories, but they feel 'real'," Cole argued. "Why can't we be real, being in your head too?"_

 _He laughed softly, finding that Connor at his other side was smiling warmly. "That logic is hard to fault," Connor pointed out._

" _Great, my own head is arguing with me over reality," he sighed. "Okay, why am I here then?"_

" _Cause you've got to choose, Dad!"_

 _That caused him to spin back to his young son. "Choose?"_

" _Yes." He turned back to Connor. "Choose what to do."_

 _Well, that wasn't very helpful. "And what are my choices, exactly?"_

" _You can stay with us!" Cole chirped with a large grin._

" _Or you can go back to the awakened androids, to help them," Connor finished. He looked at Connor in shock. "They found you, remember? They're fighting to save you right now."_

" _Wait, I can…choose? I can have you both again?"_

" _I don't know if it works quite like that…" Connor told him sadly. "After all, you would simply be joining us in death, I don't know if you'd see us both there. I am an android, after all, who knows how it truly is: and there is always the fact that they are still trying to resurrect me. Even if I stay with the both of you for now, I could leave again."_

" _Hang on…are you saying that I could lose you again, even here?" he asked fearfully._

" _Maybe," Cole told him slowly._

 _He paused, thinking this over. "So what you're saying is…I have to choose between the two of you?" His gaze turned to Cole. "You're death," he realised slowly, spinning around to Connor, "and you're life. My mind's conjured my two sons as embodiments of life and death."_

 _The pair smiled at him. "Yes, you have to choose between us," Connor told him sadly. "And even then, it is no guarantee what will happen with me. Life is all about chance, after all. Cole is the only certainty."_

 _His despairing gaze flitted between them, heart aching._

" _How the fuck can I choose between the two of_ _ **you?**_ _"_

* * *

"Is there really nothing we can do?"

Amelia shook her head slowly, still staring at the monitors in front of her. "No. There's no way to disconnect that bomb without destroying his already crippled heart. Even if I somehow managed to get him under a strong enough anaesthetic, it couldn't take the strain of the surgery." Her eyes lifted to the broken form of Hank on the bed a couple of metres away. "I dare not try and cut the limbs of that bomb away without knowing its trigger mechanism and wiring, it could detonate as soon as I try."

After discovering the presence of the bomb, North had made the call to take Hank to the still operational medical centre in New Jericho. It was not nearly as busy since Belle-Isle had come fully online, but everything they would need to examine and keep him alive would be there. Because of the threat of the bomb, they'd ordered everyone else out from the building and locked it down. The reason why was kept a tight secret, but it wouldn't take long for rumours to spread. All of those still residing in New Jericho were tense and apprehensive of more attacks against their people.

So long as Belle-Isle was safe and they'd made sure that no others were put at risk, Markus was more than willing to take the chance of being there. If their thoughts as to what the RK900 was truly after were right, then he was helping to stop that bomb from detonating.

If he died in the explosion, its plan would crumble to dust – and he didn't think the android would leave that outcome as a possibility. While he was here, he was protecting the rest of his people: especially the ones who were working frantically to save their critical companion.

Markus sighed from Amelia's side and his own sight fell to the scan results on one of the monitors, showing the complex bomb which had embedded itself within the human's heart. "So a transplant is his only chance."

She winced at the thought but nodded. "Markus, you know that cybernetic organs are temperamental at best, and especially hearts. The success rate is only 31%, and that is if he lasts long enough. Simon needs two days to build the heart, and I really don't know if I can keep him sustained that long, he's dangerously weak already…" Her eyes filled with tears and she raised a hand to the chain which she now wore around her own neck, clasping it tightly. Amelia had been unwilling to part with it since Hank had left it to her in the ambulance.

"I'm scared he's already given up," she admitted tearfully. "After all he went through…would it be right to bring him back to experience the aftermath of all that trauma? Not only the physical, but the mental too? He was _tortured,_ Markus, and we can only piece together some of it from his injuries. Who knows what else he went through." She brushed away some of the tears and took in a shaky breath. "Would it be right to bring him back knowing all that?"

The android leader looked at her sorrowfully. "Of all the people who might argue for letting him go…you were the last I expected, Amelia."

"It's only because I care so much about him that I'm even thinking about. Markus, he's suffered so _much_ , and he's tired. The two people he loved the most are already dead. Would he really want to come back to all of the pain that we know he is going to experience in attempting to heal?"

"That isn't our choice to make."

The pair spun to see North leaning against the doorframe, her eyes hollow but determined. Her cold tone struck home for both of them. "It isn't right that we make that choice for him," she told them fiercely, "this is for him alone to decide. Just as we've done with all the androids that we've resurrected, we should let him choose between life and death when the time comes."

"North, he's human, it's not so simple," Amelia reminded her.

"If we manage to bring him back, he's going to have a cybernetic heart. Should he not wish to stay, we can simply short it out," she pointed out emotionlessly. While her tone may appear at first thought to be heartless, both Markus and Amelia knew she was speaking from not only experience, but her own emotional pain. "Please…" she said softer, "don't make that choice for him. Give him the same right that we've given all the others."

Markus and Amelia shared a long look before they turned back to North. "You know we will," Markus said soothingly.

Amelia looked at her in shame. "North, you know I-"

"I would never judge you, Amelia. Of all those now his life, he would trust you to do best by him," North told her with a sad smile. "I can completely understand why you thought about it." Straightening up, North veered the conversation to her original purpose. "Company is here. They're waiting downstairs." Her focus then shifted to Amelia. "I've brought some help too."

Both Markus and Amelia were curious. Following North out, they allowed her to bring them into a nearby office space from the private room that Hank had been set up in. As soon as the door opened, the pair were surprised by twin barks. Amelia gave a watery smile as she went down to her knees and hugged Sumo, the St Bernard nuzzling into the familiar android. North also knelt in petting her black Labrador, who had been named Jet by Hank after she couldn't pick one herself. _"He's jet black, so Jet will fuckin' do."_

"Hey Sumo," Amelia greeted softly while Sumo boofed at her. Her eyes went to North as the other android took comfort from her own dog. "Why'd you bring them here when there's a bomb in the next room?"

"Cause I don't for one second believe that Markus would be here if he thought there was a realistic chance of that thing detonating," North told her, trying her best to keep the truth hidden. "I needed to check on them, and I didn't want to be far away…Bringing them here seemed like the best option." Amelia turned to look at Markus, but the android leader just gave her a tight smile before heading away. North knew where he was headed and nuzzled her dog again instead. "How is he?"

Amelia looked at her with immense sadness. "I really hope Simon can build that heart in time." North's own eyes fell to the floor. "Thus far I've managed to keep him stable, but he's incredibly weak. I don't know how long I can keep him going."

"Simon will come through," North told her determinedly. "We've just got to keep him alive until then." She paused for a second. "Chris' status is good. His swelling has gone right down and it looks like there is minimal damage. We won't know until we bring him round in two days though." Amelia nodded in gratitude: she hated being away from Belle-Isle after having done so much work on Chris, but she knew there would be plenty of people there who could look after him. Learning that at least he was out of danger helped to ease her racing mind.

The clatter of shoes from the corridor had their attention, and Amelia was surprised by the two figures which walked past with Markus en route to the other room. "Fowler and Allen? What are they doing here?"

North sighed as she stood, giving Jet one last pet when the Labrador whimpered at her. "Because we need their help – and they should know what happened."

With some gentle coaxing to make sure the two dogs wouldn't cause too much hassle in the office, North and Amelia managed to leave them and join the trio in the other room. Markus spied them enter and gave them a sombre look before turning his attention back to the other two. Allen had stayed back, but Fowler was right at Hank's bedside, looking over all the wounds which were visible: and they were only the barest minimum.

Amelia had bandaged as much as she could, but even then many of the cuts still bled through the wrappings. His gown concealed the ghastly stab to his abdomen, but the horrific burn across his chest was left open to have new salves applied to it every few hours. Hank's whole neck was bruised black from where he'd been repeatedly hanged, and his chest was barely rising and falling. Every breath was struggle, even with the oxygen mask which was taped over his face, and the heart monitor showed how the organ stuttered in a faint rhythm.

"Jesus Christ. Hank…" Fowler breathed out angrily. "I know you said he was in a bad way, Markus, but _fuck-_ " His eyes snapped up to bore into the android leader's own pair. "The hell happened to him?"

"The assassin that we've been after since the bombing of the Awakening celebration," Markus started, "it has been sent by CyberLife to destroy the awakened androids. It is an RK900, an android built purely as a soldier and killer." Both Fowler and Allen straightened up at hearing this. "We've finally discovered how it intends to do so."

"Markus." He turned at North's call, seeing her reluctance to share this secret – but all those in this room deserved to know everything. Markus trusted Fowler and Allen to keep this quiet given the stakes, they had proven themselves trustworthy, and Amelia was one of their inner circle. He fully intended on telling the others once this was over.

He gave her a reassuring smile before continuing. "When I helped all of the androids wake up during the uprising, I removed them from CyberLife's network." North looked down in reluctant acceptance while moving away to the far end of the room. "We have since built our own, isolating ourselves from CyberLife's influence and any dangers that they may have lurking in any potential uploads." Markus paused for a second to make sure the others were still following him. "But therein lay a new problem: with all of CyberLife's vast resources, I didn't want the entire security of our people to lay in my hands. Should anything happen to me, there needs to be provisions for our people to continue.

"So, we devised a new encryption system of our own. A three-way, two-tier lock system. Any updates to our entire people can only be made with the biometrics of the three people responsible, and their individual passwords. Six components to guarding our people's future."

Amelia looked at Markus in shock. "Three people…? But then-" Markus saw when she clicked.

He nodded at her. "Yes. There were few I could trust with this, so I went with those closest to me, the ones that I knew had absolute faith in our movement. I am one," Markus looked up to see North staring out of the window at the other end of the room, "North is another," his gaze then turned back to their crippled companion, "and Hank is the last."

Allen raised an eyebrow at him. "You trusted a human with something so sensitive? Can't imagine that would go down well with your people."

Markus smiled at him sadly. "Hank is one of the very few humans that our people have absolute faith in. No-one has forgotten his actions during the uprising, nor what he has done for us since." His eyes hardened as he continued. "We believe that the RK900 is after these keys. It stole North's data right before it killed her at the bombing, and you can see how Hank has been tortured by it. Given the change in its otherwise methodical behaviour, this is the only conclusion we can come to."

Fowler's gaze sharpened. "And if they get them all?"

"Then CyberLife will no doubt broadcast an update to destroy us," Markus told him strongly.

Amelia's face fell. "Markus…" He turned to her. "Do you think he gave in?"

The android's leader's eyes fell to the ground. "The system was accessed while Hank was in its captivity." His stare rose to meet Amelia's again. "I cannot see much, but since he was logged in…" Her whole posture slumped at hearing that, as did North's in the corner. "It is a safe assumption that it now has four keys."

"Can't you just change the passwords?" Allen asked him.

"Only the person responsible for each password can change them," North said coldly from the side of the room. "It's changed mine and will have no doubt changed Hank's. Unless we can log back in, we can't amend them."

"Shit. So, you guys are in serious trouble then?" Allen concluded. North nodded at him before turning away again.

Fowler's stare honed in on North for a second before turning back to Markus. "All right, since we're being honest, let me ask you something, Markus." The android leader nodded. "All those androids with those markings on their wrists, the brands…" Fowler missed how North turned to stare at him harshly and Amelia's tensing. "That's all the androids that were dead, isn't it?"

Markus kept his face impassive, but his silence was answer enough. Fowler chuckled sadly. "I figured as much. I ain't going to speculate on what's changed, how you folks are suddenly able to bring back your own, but I'm gonna warn you to be damn careful. We've had a sharp spike in anti-android protests down at the precinct, and I don't trust a lot of my own people to be sympathetic when this all comes to light."

That…wasn't what any of the androids had been expecting. Markus gave Fowler a grateful smile. "Thank you, Captain. Your warning is appreciated." Thinking quickly, Markus realised that maybe the two in front of them could help with their hunt. "While we are discussing this, there is something you should be aware of." Both humans looked at him steadily. "We are hunting the RK900 with all of our resources, but it has evaded us at every opportunity. If you would be willing to aid us in locating it, your help would be invaluable. It is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of humans at the bombings, as well as thousands of androids."

Allen nodded at him. "You got it."

Fowler gave the same response. "Damn right we'll be with you in hunting this thing. This thing is a serious danger and it needs to be destroyed."

Sensing the mood, Amelia stepped in. "There is one thing though…" All attention spun to her. "We need the RK900 mostly intact. Or at the very least, we need its heart in one piece."

"What the hell for?" Allen scoffed. "Research?"

"No…" Markus sighed. "We need its heart to bring Connor back."

That had Fowler pulling back in shock. "Wait, you guys can't fix him already?"

"As CyberLife's latest prototype, many of Connor's biocomponents were unique. His heart was one of them. There are no records of the biocomponent blueprints, and we have been unable to reverse engineer one. We've managed to obtain the schematics to the RK900, and that is how we learned of this." Markus sighed long. "It is a long shot, we know it, but there's a chance. Besides…" the android leader's gaze fell to Hank's broken form, "Connor died freeing thousands of our people – without their numbers, we never would have survived. He turned the tide of the uprising: we owe it to him to try."

Fowler and Allen shared a look before the police Captain spoke again. "Give us everything you've got and we'll come up with a plan for keeping an eye out." His eyes fell to Hank again. "What's his prognosis?" he asked unsteadily.

"A heart transplant is his only option," Amelia answered, while showing Fowler the results of the scan, allowing the man to see the bomb wrapped around his heart. "We're building one now, but even if we manage to keep him alive that long, we still need to see if it'll take. It's a waiting game," she admitted sadly.

After staring at the tablet in his hand with a clenched fist for several seconds, Fowler passed it back to Amelia. His gaze then spun to Markus. "Tell me everything that you know, Markus. Do that, and I'll give you every resource I've got in hunting that son of a bitch down."

Markus nodded with a grateful smile, proceeding to guide both humans out of the room. Their assistance could only improve their chances of finding the RK900.

Although if he was honest with himself…he didn't think it was going to take much. That thing wanted him for the last two keys, it wasn't going to be far.

They needed a plan to draw it into a trap.

* * *

 _He wondered how long it had been since his sons had told him of the choice which now lay before him, but he knew time had passed. The freezing sea of snow and ice had begun to encroach on their safe haven, and the green of the grassland was getting smaller and smaller. Pretty soon, he'd just be able to kick out and touch it. "What's going to happen when the snow reaches this place?" he asked them._

" _Then your time will be up," Connor answered plainly. "You only have this choice for a small period of time, Hank."_

 _That earned a morbid chuckle. "So if I don't want to choose I'm dead anyway?"_

" _A will to live involves_ _ **wanting**_ _it," the android told him. "You have to choose to fight for life, and…well, you are right on death's door. If you really want it to be over, you can take Cole's hand, or go into the snow. Either way, that's it."_

 _Hmmm, food for thought there. "It ain't that easy, normally," he pointed out. "How am I even dreaming this shit up, anyway?"_

" _Dunno," Cole told him. "You used to tell me that imaginations are weird, Dad. Maybe this is you finding a way to accept everything you've been through?"_

" _There have been studies to support that the human brain processes emotional turmoil and trauma within sleep, or more specifically, dreams," Connor continued. "You spent many years wanting to join Cole in the afterlife, and then you were faced with life again because of my wishes. Then you were told of the chance to see me returned, and had to forsake it to protect the other androids." His posture slumped at the reminder of losing the heart which could have saved Connor. "Your heart and mind have been torn for a long time, but you've not felt like you truly had a choice until now. This is your chance."_

" _So I really can pick either way, huh?" he wondered._

" _Uh-huh!" Cole piped up, jumping off his swing to stand in front of his father. "Just grab a hold of whichever one of us you choose."_

" _Wait." He really didn't like the sound of that. "I can't even hold both of you?"_

" _No," Connor told him sadly. "You would never let either of us go, and that's not how this works. You can only choose one."_

 _It was bliss and agony, seeing them both here. Talking with them. They weren't real, and yet they were. In a place of dreams, fantasy and whatever the hell else his mind was conjuring up to get away from the horrible reality waiting outside, it had given him this choice._

 _But_ _how_ _could he choose which son to stay with, and which to leave behind?_

* * *

The two days passed quickly, with most of the group working flat out. Desperate to keep his mind off the status of two of his closest friends, Ben had thrown himself headfirst into going through the remains of the red ice lab where the RK900 had made its move. There wasn't an awful lot there, but they managed to gain a list of contacts. With that, they at least had some idea of where that thing might be going, or where it could be hiding. North and Autumn had joined him in picking apart everything they could from the intel. Both the AIF and ADF pooled their people in an effort to break apart the red ice network that they had found, and maybe find their target.

Since Chris was recovering better than she had hoped, Amelia roused him a day earlier than planned. He was incredibly groggy and had severe pain in his head, but with the right medication it would ease quickly. As head injuries went, it could have been a lot worse, and she reckoned with the right care, he could conceivably be back to full fitness in only two weeks. His fracture had been stapled together and was healing nicely, while the concussion was already much improved. Depending on his future progress, she was keeping an open mind about letting him back into the field so soon.

Markus' thoughts that his presence may be stopping the RK900 from detonating the bomb were soon proving to well founded. The days went on, and there was no sign of the device being triggered or even armed. It was true that they were only guessing, but the one thing that Markus was now certain of: he was the last line of defence. Some more digging had confirmed his fears – Hank's password had been changed, the log of activity at the core of the neural network was the proof. Despite whatever torture he had gone through, it had been in vain.

Now they needed a plan to stop the machine before it managed to engineer a trap for Markus.

Simon had been working with many of the other medical androids to construct the cybernetic heart, and the progress had been good. After constructing the basic system at Belle-Isle, Simon had taken it to New Jericho to finish the mechanical organ there. Normally there would be weeks of testing to make sure a cybernetic organ was calibrated correctly for a patient if the time were available, especially one built with a specific person in mind.

They'd managed to create it as close to Hank's own heart as possible in dimension, and had managed to start a blood transfusion through the organ to test its efficiency and see if Hank's own antibodies would reject it. Just like with organic donor organs, human bodies sometimes rejected any replacement: except unlike with a standard transplant, they couldn't simply place him onto to immuno-suppressants to help it take. If his body rejected this, he had no second chance.

By the time it came to the start of the third day since they'd found Hank, they still didn't know if it was going to work. North had taken a break after going back to the house to check on the two dogs, and decided to check in on their progress. With almost a dozen teams out in the field helping to dismantle the red ice network, she knew her presence wouldn't be missed for an hour or so. After first finding Markus working in the office right next to Hank's room and speaking with him briefly, she moved on.

She found Amelia and Simon in the testing lab, both looking grave. Their expressions made her grind to a halt. "Shit, what's happened?" she asked them frantically.

Amelia's attention spun to her, but she couldn't hold the gaze and looked away again. "His vitals have reached critical levels. We still don't have the heart fully calibrated, so we're just guessing as to what to do with it," she admitted. "I really wish we could have got more help on this, but a lot of the human doctors we asked were unwilling to deal with androids asking how to transplant a cybernetic organ."

North snarled at the revelation. "Damn racist bastards," she growled, but quickly reined in her temper. It wasn't going to change anything now. Seeing how Simon was so deep in thought, North put a hand on Amelia's shoulder. "Why don't you check on him, see how he's holding?" she suggested subtly. Amelia was confused, but then noticed how North's gaze fell upon Simon. Realising what she was intending, Amelia nodded and moved away. Simon continued to stare at the readouts of the test on the heart from the monitor, not looking at North.

Despite him now having been back among them for nearly a month, they still had not really talked all that much. They worked together as seamlessly as they had before Simon's death, but just like as it had with her, North could see all the little changes within him. Simon's cautious but quietly positive nature had morphed into something a lot more driven and determined, but he was also much less open with his emotions. It made reading him much trickier; and made North even more hesitant to approach him beyond their work.

Neither of them quiet knew how to talk about the elephant in the room – not until now anyway.

She stepped up beside him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, to which Simon jumped in surprise. "Sorry," she apologised quickly, retracting the touch. "You just looked rather intense there."

Simon gave her a tight smile. "I really wish I had more time to test this," he admitted. "I hate to think that whether Hank is going to live or die is dependent on whether I built the heart right. It's way beyond anything I've even thought to attempt before."

"No, but you volunteered without hesitation," North smiled. "That took a lot of guts, and you've been flat out on this since. Regardless of what happens next…you've shown a lot about who you are now from it." Simon snorted, but North saw the slight smile which appeared. He'd realised what she meant. "How have you adapted?" she asked slowly, wondering if this was a good topic to broach.

"Reasonably well," he said softly, his eyes dropping. "Though, without Markus, I really don't know how I would have done it. He…he really saved me." His gaze then turned to North. "All that you went through as the first of us to be resurrected, it has truly made a difference. Had you not been brave enough to live past death, well…I don't think many other androids would have been so courageous." North avoided his eyes as he spoke. "Thank you, North."

She laughed bitterly. "I'm not the one you should be thanking, Simon, I almost did give up. The one that convinced me about the merits of life is the one that we're trying to save. Despite wanting nothing more than to die and join his sons, he still struggled on." Simon's eyes sharpened a little. "I know no-one has probably asked you this, but…are you okay with what we're doing?"

He looked at her strangely. "How do you mean?"

"Well, we're trying to not destroy the RK900 because of Connor. And Connor is the reason you self-destructed." Simon's fist clenched at the reminder and North placed her hand back upon his shoulder. "I understand completely if you don't share our wish to see him returned. You died before he woke up, after all."

It was a few seconds before Simon answered her. "Markus showed me the Awakening," he told her solemnly. "I saw how you were all seconds from death, how there were almost no androids left. Even those you saved from the camp were only a couple of hundred in number. Had Connor not risked everything to sneak into the tower, you would have all surely died in the days after." Simon took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts before speaking again. "Honestly, I don't know how to feel about it. Connor deserves the chance to live after sacrificing himself in giving us a future…but I can't say that I am entirely sad that he died after what happened."

Contrary to his suspicions, North smiled at him in understanding. "That sounds pretty much how I felt about it all, too. I wasn't sad when Connor died, I still didn't trust him. It was only afterwards, once I got to know Hank and realised how _he_ knew Connor that I began to think differently. Connor was in the worst position out of all of us, he was built as a killer. So for him to wake up and suddenly be confronted with the reality that he became what he was designed to eliminate is a frightening thought. I don't think any of us really know how we're going to react to him once we get him back. _If_ we get him back."

He turned to give North a soft smile. "Thanks, North. I…I really needed to hear that. I wondered if I was being too harsh."

"Simon, Connor pretty much directly caused your death. If you didn't hold some sort of resentment for that, I would have been surprised. For what it's worth, though, I think he's going to be a worthy ally. And getting to see the old man have him back is good enough motivation for me."

"Never thought I'd see the day where you actually liked a human, let alone cared about one," Simon teased her.

"Trust me, I thought I'd shoot myself before that happened," she chuckled back, to which the pair of them laughed. After a few seconds, North took a deep breath and held out her hand, completely bare, for Simon. He looked at her in mild surprise, but accepted the interface. There was no doubting what she wanted to know.

Neither of them knew quite what to say about their unique situation – so they showed the other instead. They opened their emotions for the opposite to feel. Despite their mutual fear at what lay on the other side, North and Simon were stunned to realise that there was no resentment there towards their sharing of Markus. Both understood how it came about, and there was no doubting the love they shared for the android leader. All they each wanted was for him to be happy.

Sharing a smile, they pulled apart. North was surprised when Simon took a gentle hold of her shoulders and brought her in for a tender hug. She gripped him back warmly and they stayed there for several seconds. "We're really good?" she whispered to him.

"Yes," he reassured her. "We're good. Thank you, for loving him; for helping him after I died."

"Can't say I did it just for you, Simon," she laughed, to which Simon echoed her amusement. They separated with small smiles, their situation finally addressed.

Their quiet moment was shattered by a blaring from the monitor next to them.

Simon instantly realised what it was and frantically began disconnecting wiring from the heart. North watched him in shock before a scream from the next room suddenly made it slam home.

" _Simon!"_ North saw Amelia tear into the room after her desperate call, panicked, and help him remove all the equipment. "We're out of time! Put the call out for everyone to get back here, we're going to need more pairs of hands."

"Blood circulation is good and steady, and the heart is pumping at a consistent rate," he told her. Markus came racing in from the next room, eyes wide at the alarm and Amelia's shout. "I think we've done enough to at the very least keep him alive."

"We have to," Amelia replied breathlessly. "Get him prepped, we've only 26 minutes before he's too far gone."

Simon sped out, to which Markus caught Amelia's attention. "Amelia?"

"Hank's heart has finally given out, and I can't risk CPR. The physical force or electrical shock might trigger the bomb," she told them while grabbing a black case from under the table. "If we wait too long before connecting the new heart, he might have brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Once we get the bomb out, I'm going to put it in here. Do we have a plan on how to dispose of it?"

"I'm going to take it," Markus told her. "We've got a boat on standby. Once we're far enough out, I'm going to dump it in the water. Hopefully the damage it causes will be minimised."

Amelia nodded and ran out with the case, getting ready for the procedure which was Hank's last chance. North looked at Markus fearfully, to which the android leader pulled her into a fierce hug. "This is going to work, North. They'll get it out, fix him with the new heart, and then I'll dispose of the bomb."

She held on to him tight, praying that he was right.

* * *

 _He shivered as the breeze which had been fluttering past them suddenly turned biting. Connor and Cole's faces both turned sad, and he could see the snow beginning to encroach rapidly. "Guess I'm out of time, huh?"_

 _Connor stared at him hard. "Your heart is about to stop, and when it does, you'll be locked into whatever choice you make now, Hank. If you want to have a chance at life, you have to choose it now. If you don't, you won't wake up."_

 _Well, there it was. If he didn't choose Connor now, he would be with Cole no matter what. He'd never thought that he'd ever be faced with a scenario where he_ _ **didn't**_ _choose Cole, but…_

 _His gaze fell to Cole, and the boy smiled sadly at him. "Don't worry about me, Dad. I'm not going anywhere. You'll end up seeing me again someday no matter what," he pointed out. "But you may never see Connor again if you don't go with him now. We don't know how android afterlives work, and they may bring him back too."_

 _That had him laughing. "You think androids get an afterlife?" How did this question keep coming up?_

" _Why don't you ask me?" He turned to stare at Connor's question, the implication hanging thick. "You could ask me if you really wanted to. But you have to face life again, and all that it entails. Your body is broken, Hank, and your mind is badly strained. You'll be facing life after death, just like the resurrected androids. Just like_ _ **I**_ _might need to."_

 _It took him a couple of seconds to think about it, but he knew what he was going to do. The fact that Cole and Connor were both gently steering him towards the answer was indicative of that. "Then I guess we'll face that challenge together," he told his second son. Connor and Cole both smiled. "Go on then, we'll give life one last whirl. If I don't get you back though…then I'm joining both of you on the other side."_

 _Cole smiled broadly while Connor nodded with a gentle smile of his own. "I'll see you again soon, Dad!" Cole told him happily. "And when you get there, I'm gonna give you a massive hug!"_

 _That had tears welling in his eyes. As much as he wished for that now, he couldn't – because that meant choosing Cole over Connor, and he wasn't ready to give up on Connor yet. They still had a chance at bringing him back…and he would be lying if he wasn't itching for the chance to wreck that RK900 once and for all after everything it had done. "You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that, Cole," he told him with a choked voice. Cole smiled knowingly._

 _The breeze got sharper, and the snow was only inches away from them now. "Hank?"_

 _He turned to see Connor staring at him, a hand held out. With a scoff, he turned his eyes up to Connor's brown ones. "To hell with that. I'm doing exactly what I'm gonna do when I get you back home. I'm gonna save you, Connor, and then you're going to see the world you helped create."_

 _Hank pulled Connor into a fierce hug, wondering as to how he could feel so real before everything faded into white._

* * *

Phew, that chapter was emotionally draining. So, as per, things got a bit longer than I planned, but I can now confirm that there is only 3 chapters left to go in this fic! I hope you're all set for the finale, because it's coming.

Hope this was worth the wait, I'll see you all again soon!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	13. Endgame

Hey guys,

I'm not going to say much here, it's been a…nightmare few weeks which all came to a head a few days ago, so I'm in a pretty horrendous place right now. I just about managed to get this chapter finished, but I'm not sure if it's my greatest. I'm hoping that it's something akin what you all expect.

Special thanks for reviews: **MagicalWitch92, xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage, Dariana Green** and **sarahlucylu.**

I have so much love for all those who reached out after the last chapter went up and showed your support. Thank you all so much.

This is a dialogue heavy chapter, but there are a lot of necessary conversations here – two of which will probably surprise you all with regard to who it is between. We're rapidly approaching the climax now, so be prepared for a much more intense chapter next time.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Endgame**

Markus sighed tiredly as he stared at the countless sheets of paper scattered in front of him. Using the physical medium was frustrating and time consuming for him as an android, but current events had made it somewhat of a necessity. With the RK900 still on the loose and in the wind, he wasn't taking the chance that the machine could somehow hack into any electronic device and upload a virus to him.

It wouldn't be the first time that CyberLife had succeeded in spreading a crippling virus without their knowledge at the time, and Markus wasn't taking the chance. Not with the stakes so high.

Three weeks had now passed since Hank's kidnapping and subsequent retrieval, and they were still no closer to finding a way to track the RK900. It was the perfect assassin – untraceable, efficient and merciless. Markus had since taken residence within New Jericho, unwilling to risk the residents of Belle-Isle being caught in the machine's ploy to ensnare him. They'd already seen that it had no such morals about innocent lives: all it cared about was accomplishing its mission no matter the cost.

The evidence of that was still lying comatose in the hospital two buildings across.

Though they may have saved Hank's life with the cybernetic heart, it was far from straightforward for the mechanical organ to take within his body. Two days of constant issues had left both Amelia and Simon exhausted as they fought to get it fully calibrated and compatible with Hank's body, fully aware that it may all be for naught if his other organs rejected its presence. Fortunately, luck was on their side, and it had finally settled after a 51 hour battle.

Now, they were simply leaving him to awaken in his own time. Whenever that would be.

In all honesty, Markus was relieved that Hank was still out of it. The reminders of the torture he survived would be a lot easier to bear the later he awoke. Most of the gouges inflicted with the knifes had now scabbed or scarred, and the stab in his abdomen was well on its way to healing. The worst reminder was now the electrical burns across his chest and back. That, would take months to heal and the scarring left behind would be horrendous. Amelia was changing the dressing as often as she could, but it was an uphill battle.

What they were all more concerned with was his sanity. None of them knew what the RK900 had put him through in detail, all they could see was the aftermath. Physical evidence was no inclination to mental damage, and Markus couldn't shake what Amelia and North had told him about those few minutes that Hank had regained consciousness in the ambulance. They'd both agreed that Hank was ready to give up. That wasn't a good sign.

Unfortunately, Markus knew that he was in for a very tough conversation with the man when he woke up – if he awakened before all of this was over, that was.

His thoughts were disturbed by a knocking on his door, and he was shocked by the pair that wandered in. "Chris! What are you doing here? You're meant to be recovering for another week before you were cleared by Amelia to come back into active work," the android said while pulling out two other chairs for the heavily bandaged Chris and the still limping Ben. Though the bone in Ben's leg had now healed, it would still take a good few months of physiotherapy for him to regain anything like his former strength.

Chris sat down gingerly while Ben chose to lean on the wall instead, testing to see how much of a strain his crippled leg could take. He'd sat back for long enough now, he was eager to get back into action. "I couldn't just sit at home anymore," Chris admitted. "As much as my wife might disagree with me, the RK900 threatens everything we've been working for. I can't just sit back and wait for this to clear up when I can do _something_ here."

Markus sighed as Ben spoke up. "I just came down with him to make sure that Chris got here in one piece, along with checking in on Hank. Any change?"

"No, nothing, but Amelia and Simon are keeping a close eye on him. The moment it looks like he's going to come to, we'll make sure to let the both of you know." Markus' focus changed to Chris specifically. "Chris, I can't condone you going against Amelia's advice, but if you are adamant about being here…maybe you can give North a hand with setting up the patrol routes around New Jericho?"

"What's the deal with that anyway, Markus? You changed them not long ago," Ben asked the android leader.

"Recent circumstance has dictated it," Markus answered vaguely. "I'm trying to make sure the RK900 doesn't go after Belle-Isle, and if that involves making New Jericho a more appealing target, then so be it. The evacuation order is still in place, so the population here is minimal."

Ben stared hard at Markus. "Just admit it, Markus. You're leaving yourself as bait for that thing; and how North hasn't confronted you about it yet, I'll never know."

Markus didn't answer, but the forlorn expression on his face said enough. Ben was right, he was using himself as bait. He knew the RK900 would be watching, but at this point, he really couldn't see another way. If they waited, it could cause untold damage in an effort to force Markus out of hiding – and he would _never_ let his people suffer in his stead.

No, if the RK900 wanted him, it could have him: but it wasn't going to have an easy ride. Markus was going to make it come to him on the androids' terms this time.

"She has," Markus said slowly, looking up for a moment before sighing. "She knew what I was doing the minute I told her to change the patrol scheme…but North won't challenge me to find another way because she knows better than most what that thing is capable of." Both Chris and Ben darkened at Markus' statement. "North had to watch that thing slaughter all of her unit, had all her memories and knowledge stolen away from her in a forced interface and was then executed without a shred of mercy."

His stare focused on Chris. "You've suffered a terrible head injury because of that machine, Chris, and you've both seen first-hand what it did to Hank to accomplish its means. It made him into a human bomb to try and devastate us. What lengths is it _not_ willing to go to? I'm not going to sit around and wait for that answer to appear the hard way. If that means that I've got to leave myself as an appealing target, I'll happily do it. Anything to stop that thing taking more innocent lives."

The two humans shared a long look before relenting. "Yeah, I can understand where you're coming from, Markus," Ben admitted. "That doesn't mean that I don't think it's a crazy risk to take. If that RK900 gets a hold of you, it's all over."

"I know, but I'm not going to let it take me without a fight," Markus assured him. "In fact, that's something I hope you two can help me with, along with the others. We need to make sure that we're ready for whenever it decides to make its move."

A knock from the door broke through the moment, and the others were alert when they saw both Simon and Amelia walk through the door. Amelia scowled at seeing Chris, but said nothing as everyone stood. Markus regarded them warily. "What's going on?"

Simon was the one who answered. "He's awake."

* * *

Considering the extreme pain he'd been in the last time he was awake, the dull ache throughout his body seemed like a strange contrast to Hank. The cotton clogging his head really didn't help matters much, and when he tried to shift even a little, every muscle in his body protested viciously. "Fuck…" he muttered through the mask still covering his face.

The figure next to the bed was surprised by the sudden awakening, and brought her feet down from where they'd been resting on the end of it. "Shit, you came to pretty damn quick," she said in shock, sending out several quick messages to some of the other androids.

Groaning with the extreme effort of just shifting his head to the left, Hank blearily opened his eyes to find the last person he expected sitting next to him. "Autumn?"

"Nice to see you back in the world of the living, old timer," she told him with an earnest smile. "I've got to give you credit where credit's due – you took a hell of a beating and survived. I thought North and Amelia were just biased when they said you were tough as shit. You're ballsy for a human."

Hank hissed through a laugh. "Never thought I'd get an honest compliment from _you,_ " he grumbled while attempting to stretch up to pull the mask off.

Seeing the movement, Autumn pre-empted him and lifted it off gently. "Easy, you're still in ribbons. Don't agitate any of your scars," she told him softly - well, soft for Autumn. Hank relented with a long sigh and collapsed back as she grabbed the nasal cannula from the IV stand next to his bed and fitted it.

"Fucking hell…it feels like my body has forgotten what moving feeling like," he sighed while taking a deeper breath.

Autumn's eyes clouded slightly. "You've been out for three weeks, so that's a pretty accurate description."

Hank stared at her in shock. "Three _weeks?_ "

"Yeah…turns out that trying to calibrate a cybernetic heart while your body was in such a state of trauma was pretty fucking complicated. No joke, for over two days straight after Amelia and Simon even managed to fit you with it, it was still touch and go as to whether you'd make it. Amelia almost maxed out on her stress levels three time," Autumn told him seriously, which had the exact opposite effect she was going for when she saw Hank sigh in agitation.

"Damn it, that girl should know by now that I'm gonna croak sooner rather than later. I told her that getting attached to me was a bad idea," Hank growled, wincing when he tried to sit up a little more.

This time, Autumn left him to struggle. "Fucking hell, you might be a sturdy bastard, but you're thick as shit, you know that?"

Offended, Hank glowered at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" he croaked while finally shifting a few centimetres to move his spasming muscles and give them some relief.

"You do realise that you literally stopped Amelia from self-destructing after I died, right?" Autumn told him sharply. "Not only that, but you were there to help her pick herself back up again. She cares about you because you didn't give a shit that she's an android and were the first human to see her as a _person_. I really didn't get it until after that fucking machine took you, I thought there was something really strange about your dynamic, but Amelia put in in perspective for me."

Hank stayed silent, but he knew where it was going. "She loves you, you idiot," Autumn sighed. "You're her closest friend and I know she would do literally anything for you. I guess I didn't really understand platonic love until then."

"Emotions are complicated as fuck," Hank told her. "You didn't really get the chance to experience much before your life was cut short. It's little wonder that you feel so out of touch with it all now. Amelia's got months' worth on you."

Autumn took this in before giving him a hard stare. "All right. I know this is long overdue, but I need to ask this. I guess I've just been dancing around this issue seeing as I've been kind of…trying to live again." Hank waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts.

"What sort of relationship did you and Amelia have before you brought me back? I just…want to know where we stand."

Despite the pain which came from the rumble in his chest, Hank smiled at the ridiculous question. "You're asking if we were a thing or fucked, aren't you?"

"Fucking _hell,_ " Autumn hissed while glaring at him. "Must you?!"

"I'm lying here all but broken into fuck knows how many pieces, Autumn. I really don't give a shit right now." At that, Autumn's horrified stare relaxed a little. "There's an easy answer to this, and you came up with it yourself. Yes, there's a chemistry between Amelia and I, but it had been, and always will be, platonic. We're close, and I know a few people are convinced that something has transpired between us; but honestly? We enjoy playing up to the speculation. It's fun."

Autumn's face morphed into acceptance, and she smiled genuinely. "I figured as much, but I wanted to hear you say it. It's not that I didn't trust Amelia when she said so, but I-"

"You didn't know if it was the same on my side of the fence." The android nodded. Hank paused for a moment before answering her. "Amelia and I share the same feelings towards each other, and we both know it. Pretty sure that's why we are so comfortable together. We know what we each want, where we stand, and where that leaves us. Is it complicated? No. Is it strange? Maybe to someone looking from the outside, but neither of us ever gave a fuck." He could see Autumn mulling this over. "The big question is, is that a problem for you?"

She looked up at him in slight surprise. "You'd change your friendship with Amelia over me?"

"All I've wanted for that girl is for her to be happy, and you've brought a spark back to her that I've been trying for months to find. You're everything to her, Autumn, so whatever is best for her, I'll go with. If you don't think you can handle our dynamic, then that's how it's got to be."

Finally relaxing, Autumn looked at him with an expression that he would almost call…impressed? "I guess we're all good then," she told him assuredly. "I didn't get it, I really didn't. Seeing you two, I was convinced there was something romantic there, if only from your side since all I knew of humans was from the Eden Club. I've slowly been learning more since being brought back, but it wasn't until I saw how everyone reacted that I realised what I'd been seeing." Her smile became a little more genuine. "For the record, I'm glad you two have that bond. It's nice to know that Amelia came out of her shell, she's always been shy."

"Amelia? _Shy?_ Pah, no fucking chance," Hank chuckled before wheezing, bringing a hand up weakly to clutch his chest. It was only when he held it there that he suddenly felt the change within, not having really registered it until then.

A perfectly steady beat, one per second. Too consistent to be human.

His demeanour immediately sobered as Autumn's words finally sank in. "Cybernetic heart…" She watched him steadily, wondering how he was going to react to the revelation. It took several more seconds before Hank spoke again. "So, what, I'm a cyborg or some shit now?"

She snorted at the comparison. "Not what I'd have gone for, but it works I guess." Autumn stood to bring over a tablet which had been lying on the table at the side of the room. After finding the relevant page she handed it over to Hank, letting him see all the details of what work had been done to him. "Cybernetic heart, a few fancy sensors mapped to your new organ and brain to make sure they stay synced up along with some fortifications to your arteries to take the increased strain of the machinery. It's a fair bit heavier than your old heart, so they had to fit some splints to hold it in place, but those are plastic. If they'd had more time they probably could have got it a lot closer; but, you know…"

Hank read over it all with as much detachment as he could. Seeing the hard evidence of everything the RK900 had inflicted on him was…jarring. The new heart and implants weren't all that Amelia and Simon had done.

It turned out that the RK900 had gone through a lot of critical nerves and tendons in Hank's arms and legs through its methodical torture, all of which had been fused with synthetic versions so that he could heal. And the plastic splints around his heart weren't the only fortifications they'd fitted – his spinal discs had been fortified with liquid titanium to minimise his adjustment and to keep his centre of gravity as close as possible after all of the changes.

… _I really am a fucking cyborg now._ _ **Christ…**_

An awkward cough from Autumn snapped his attention up and he grimaced at the quick movement before seeing what had caused the change: a new figure lurking in the doorway, and he was a little stunned to see the heaviness in her eyes.

Of all the people to have be so emotional about what happened to him, North wasn't really that high on the list.

"I'll go wait for the others, I've told them all that you're awake," Autumn announced while moving away. "They should all be here soon. I'm sure Amelia won't be hanging around, she and Simon were already most of the way to seeing Markus." She flashed the two of them an awkward smile. "See you around old timer, boss."

Hank shook his head in slight amusement as North rolled her eyes at Autumn's farewell, but she did give the other android an appreciative look as Autumn left. Despite her flash temper and slightly murderous tendencies, Autumn was a good compliment for North's leadership after all the changes that the other android had gone through after her resurrection.

Once it was just the two of them left, North stepped into the room slowly, her eyes running over all of the injuries which she could still see. Hank chuckled at all the places where her gaze landed. "I'll bet I look like a bit like a patchwork doll with all the stitches in me, huh?" he joked gruffly.

It landed and got a slight smirk from North. "You missed the thousand or so staples that you had the first week," she fired back softly. "Trust you to get so banged up that you cleared out everything that we had left here."

"Well, you like to say I'm dramatic at times. Think I proved the point at last?"

North finally came to a stop next to his bed and perched upon the edge of it, staring down at what Hank knew now was second degree burns across his whole chest from being shocked. Shocked to death, only to be wrenched back into living as the RK900 kept torturing him.

…He was doing a pretty good job of avoiding thinking about it right now, but he knew all that shit was going to catch up with him the first time he tried to fall asleep. Outwardly he didn't show much, but the minute his subconscious got a hold of him? Hank was going to be an absolute fucking mess.

Hank gave North time to collect her thoughts, knowing her well enough after all they'd been through in the past couple of months to realise that with the right amount of time, she'd let it all out. She just needed it to be at her pace. It was almost two full minutes of silence before North's hand stretched out to take a delicate hold of Hank's wrist, feeling the strong, steady pulse beneath. He counted the beats along with her, feeling the perfect rhythm which was keeping him alive.

It was so inhuman that it was throwing him for a loop. Then again, given his allegiance to the androids, maybe it was quite fitting that he was that bit closer to them physically.

"I really didn't think you'd come back."

Her soft voice broke through his thoughts and Hank had a feeling what she was referencing. "You always complain about my stubbornness," he pointed out.

North's eyes stayed on the bed covers as she continued. "What do you remember about us finding you, Hank?"

Shit, that was a good question. He could recall flashes of both North and Amelia's faces, but nothing of what they'd said. The panic and pain which had been lancing through him at the time was vivid as fuck though. Recalling how he was desperately trying to warn them about that bomb was not difficult. And when they'd figured it out-

 _Ah fuck, I know what she's getting at now._

He knew where the missing weight around his neck would be, but that was something for another time. "Enough," he answered hoarsely, at which he felt North's grip tighten slightly. "I'm not going to lie, North, I didn't expect to see you getting so cut up over this."

She snorted derisively. "Stupid old fuck…" Hank smiled slightly in amusement before she went on. "What else did you expect? Yeah, before everything went to shit I'd agree with you, but…shitting hell, Hank, you know better than anyone how much I've changed. You're the person who finally helped me figure out how to live with this: with who I've become. With everything in chaos both around me and in my mind, you gave me somewhere to feel safe. A shelter against the storm of the world."

Another tremor rocked her and Hank shifted his arm slightly so that he could take a gentle grip of her wrist instead, running his thumb over the exposed Phoenix brand. While out in public North kept it hidden – but in the safety of those she was close to, it was shown as mark of pride, of survival. Simon thought similarly while Autumn didn't care who saw the brand. It was a sensitive subject amongst the androids.

North smiled slightly at the gesture. "You never did anything other than accept who I am now, and made damn sure that I was accepting of it. Even when I hated how weak I felt because of how I've changed, you just batted it all away and treated me like you did before. It was…it was just what I needed. Someone to be honest and _there_ despite all my bullshit."

A lone tear snaked down her face as she paused. "So of fucking _course_ I was going to hurt like shit when you all but gave up on us in that ambulance. Seeing all that that bastard put you through, I didn't for a second blame you for wanting peace…but I still wanted you back." Her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment. "Despite you being a grumpy old ass and still an asshole on occasion, you're someone who just _gets_ me. I don't think even Markus does in the way you do."

"Well, friends see different things than lovers do, and they're there for a different purpose. From what you've both told me, you two were never really friends before you became involved. Missing that step probably has a lot to do with it."

She hummed in thought. "Maybe you're right. I've never really thought of that before."

"I've got a fuck ton more years of living on you, North, that's the sort of shit you learn after you're as old as me."

That caused her eyes to sharpen, and she finally looked up to stare at him hard. "And how many more do you intend to add to it?"

There it was, the issue they'd been dancing around. "North-"

"You made me answer the question, Hank. I'm just returning the favour – and I didn't go through even half the shit you did."

"It's hardly a fair comparison, North. You died."

"And you were ready to. Sounds like a reasonable inquiry to me."

Well, she had him there. He couldn't exactly hide from her after he'd thought he was biting the dust in that ambulance. Whether she was ready to hear the truth was another thing entirely. It surprised him how at ease he was with the answer, but he could only guess that being faced with his own mortality in the way he had been changed his view slightly.

"I'm hanging around long enough to see that son of a bitch become a scrap heap," he told her strongly. "Beyond that, well, my fate is tied to Connor's. We get him back, I'll make the effort to at the very least try. If not…I'm going to finally do what I intended to after losing my first son, let alone my second."

It was true – somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd already come to that resolution. If Connor really was gone for good, then he was going to join both of his sons in death: and maybe get the chance to see them both again.

Hank found it a little strange how adamant he was about it. Then again, fuck knows what had happened to his head in those three weeks that he was comatose. It was a long time to dream.

North sighed in resignation. "I figured you might say that. You know that I'll respect whatever choice you make, ever since this shit happened you're aware how adamant I am about being given the option to choose how you meet your own demise, but…I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"Thanks, North. That means _something_ , not sure what," he teased lightly, earning a light flick to his arm in reply from the android. He was grateful that she dodged all the scars and scabs from the knife wounds when she did it.

"Asshole," she laughed quietly in return. When her face stayed serious, however, Hank realised the conversation wasn't over. North hesitated for a bit before looking at him gravely. "We don't blame you, you know. Under the torture you went through, I think anyone would have broken."

He stared at her in mild shock. "What? North, what the fuck are you talking about? I didn't tell that bastard shit."

"Hank, it's okay. We know what the RK900 is after, Markus and I saw the change to the network. It's got your password now as well as mine, there's not a lot we can do about it now."

Realising that, of course, no one knew the rest of the story, Hank snorted bitterly. "Ah fuck, North, you don't know the half of what that fucker wanted."

So he told her, and North's fury ratcheted up with every moment – all the way up until Hank told her that the RK900 offered him a heart for Connor in exchange for the password. "Son of a bitch, it's known since the very start? I can't believe it forced you to face _that_ of all things."

Hank's heart (heart, hah!) ached at the reminder. Funny how a chemical reaction in the brain tripped you into thinking that it was a physical one instead. "Yeah…"

"And even then you didn't give in?"

"That was never our prize, North, the real one is still beating in the RK900's chest. That's our key to saving Connor, we have no idea what that thing would have planned. Considering it planted a bomb inside that heart and blew it up right in front of me, there's a fair chance it intended to do that anyway. No way would it have just given us the chance to bring Connor back as a weapon against it."

She mulled this over. "So it never needed the password from you at all. This was all a sick play by CyberLife to make you an example?"

"Looks that way," Hank admitted tiredly. "The bastard turned me into a Trojan fucking horse, or at least tried to. I'm guessing from the fact that I've now got a metal heart that you guys couldn't get rid of it?"

"Not for lack of trying on anyone's part," she told him softly. "They worked on you constantly from when you were found, but that bomb had wormed itself right into your heart. After all the damage you'd taken before, they knew that removing it would kill you." A dark thought crossed her mind and her hand tightened into a fist. "You weren't meant to survive; you know that, right? We got damn lucky that you lived long enough to let Simon build you a new heart at all."

Hank sighed slowly. "Yeah, I'm well aware. I'm not exactly the best of warning signs on what happens when you cross CyberLife in still being alive," he attempted to joke, but it fell flat this time. His bitter tone probably didn't help matters. "What is Markus doing now, if he knows that he's the RK900's next target?"

North winced. "He's asked me to change the patrol patterns here at New Jericho to leave it an opening to sneak in."

He stared at her in shock. "Holy fuck, North, are you telling me that Markus is leaving himself up as _bait_?"

A sharp knock at the door frame had then looking towards it, and the soon found the person of their discussions appear in view. Markus gave them a tight but relieved smile, to which North smiled shyly in return. "Markus, can you give us five more minutes?" she asked timidly.

Markus was surprised but nodded gently. "Of course. Everyone's here, and they're all eager to see you, Hank." His smiled grew a little as his eyes met with the human's. "Welcome back, it's good to still have you with us."

Hank chuckled in return. "North's often said I'm too stubborn to die, looks like she was right."

North shook her head fondly while staring at Markus. "Please, Markus, just five minutes?"

"Ping me when you're ready, I'll make sure you have total privacy," he assured her with a soft smile.

"Thank you," she whispered as Markus took his leave, and the soft mutterings from beyond the door confirmed that he was ushering away the others. Hank watched North curiously, wondering what she was wanted to discuss so urgently that it couldn't wait until their next quiet moment.

"You know, Sumo's been sniffing the whole house looking for you. Jet's become _his_ emotional support rather than mine," she told him through a chuckle. "He still sits staring at the front door waiting for you to come home even when I go back there."

"That old, sappy, goof," Hank said warmly. "My whole bed is going to be covered in hairs, isn't it?"

"Honestly, I think your bed, the sofa and the chair in your room have all had it with how much he's been shedding. Poor guy is so confused as to where you've been the past few weeks. I've been telling him that you'll come home at some point, but I don't think he gets it."

"Great, I'm going to get absolutely covered in his slobber when I see him next," Hank smiled.

"You'd better believe it," she told him with a smile of her own. As the moment passed, however, North's hand shifted and Hank was surprised when she rested it over his own. "He's not the only one that's been looking for you. I mean, fuck, Hank, it's been a weird as shit few weeks wondering if you were going to come back. After living with you for a while now, I didn't realise how quiet it was without you around. I enjoy the company of your grumpy ass."

"I'm flattered," he snarked, before his expression softened again. "What's in your head, North?"

"…I'm going to miss living with you, when Connor comes back."

That wasn't what Hank was expecting and he looked at her in shock. "You going to Belle-Isle when that happens?"

"Well, yeah, it's not like it could be any other way. Connor's going to be lost as fuck, just like every other resurrected android, and after all you did for me, of course he's going to be best living with you. I'm not going to get in the way of that."

Hank stared harshly at her. "North, if you're saying this because you're worried about stepping on any toes, get that thought _the fuck_ outta your head. You ain't going nowhere if you don't want to." She stared at him sceptically. "Look, there plenty space at the house. Might be a little weird for a while but we'll make it work. If you want to go to Belle-Isle, that's fine, but don't you think for one second that I'm kicking you to the curb if we somehow manage to bring Connor back, all right? Much as it might surprise you, you're not the only one who enjoys the company."

North's eyes welled slightly again. She didn't often let this side show, Markus and Hank were the only ones who got to see it right now; even if it was slowly clawing its way out more frequently as North adjusted to herself more. "You're sure?" she whispered shakily, and Hank saw right through the insecurity. She was scared of more change to her life, of losing something that she'd come to find security in.

It was a phantom fear. "Fuckin' positive, North. Get that thought outta your head, all right? One, it ain't my style to just leave someone high and dry, and two, I'm not separating those dogs. I think Sumo might never forgive me if you take Jet away and I know you won't leave the big lug behind willingly."

She managed to hold back the tears and gave the softest smile Hank had ever seen from her. While it was alien as hell to see that expression on North's face, he was also glad. North finally looked the most comfortable she'd been with herself – well, ever, actually.

"Thank you," she whispered for a moment before he saw her go rigid in thought. A split second later, she leant forward and gently pressed her lips to his.

He'd been on the end of a few moments like this over the years. Expressions of relief and thankfulness from victims or relatives, it wasn't a completely strange concept. Given his own thoughts on physical affection, he wasn't thrown that much. The fact that this had come from _North_ of all people was maybe a little shocking, but he understood the gesture perfectly.

It was no more than an honest showing of gratitude: something a little more intimate than a hug, but the intention was nothing more than innocent.

She pulled away from the chaste kiss after a couple of seconds a little shyly, but Hank just gave a reassuring squeeze of her hand. "If you wanted me to shut up, you could have just poked at a scab you know," he told her lightly, and he could see North was relieved that he wasn't making a big deal of it.

North smirked slightly. "I was actually hoping that would flummox you, but I should have known better," she fired back, pulling back to put a little more distance between them. "Don't let it go to your head."

"Nah, don't worry. Autumn may have stolen the 'psycho' part of your nickname, but you're still a bitch. Nothing's going to take that away from you." North's smile went gentle for a second before her face changed again, going more neutral as footsteps approached. Hank guess that she must have messaged Markus to let him know that they were done.

He was glad that they'd got that little point cleared up, and he was adamant about that. North could go to Belle-Isle if she wanted to, but Hank would never force her out. It might mean that they'd have to do some major reconfiguring of rooms to make sure that everyone had their own space, but she was always welcome there.

…But he was getting ahead of himself. First, they had to end that RK900 and get its heart to save Connor.

Unsurprisingly it was Amelia who came in first, striding over to give Hank an infinitely gentle hug around his head, wary to agitate any of his other wounds while checking his vitals. "Of course you had to wake up when I left the building," she groused light-heartedly while reaching up to pull the chain off from around her neck.

Hank smiled at seeing it and relaxed as soon as it was replaced around his neck. With all the other chaos going on, it felt so good to have that little piece of familiarity back. "Did you expect anything less? It's just my awkward as fuck timing," he told her deadpan, which had Amelia laughing. As she leant to give him a slightly longer hug around the shoulder, Hank whispered into her ear. "Thanks for finding me, honey."

Amelia gave him a soft smile as she pulled back. "I figured that you might have known, but I didn't want to assume. Not too invasive I hope?"

"Considering it saved me from that machine bastard, I can't be mad. Not that I would be anyway," he assured her, and Amelia could tell he was being genuine. He really wasn't bothered by it, it was good to know that she cared enough to be wary of him when things got bad. A few months of their friendship wasn't going to undo years of self-loathing and worthlessness after Cole's death, but little things like this made it a whole lot easier to believe that he mattered to a few people.

Leaving it there, Hank was surprised to see how many people came down to see him. Josh and Simon gave warm welcome backs, while Chris' was much more heartfelt, Autumn coming to a stop next to Amelia was a knowing stare. Ben gave him a slightly painful handshake from the intensity, but Hank appreciated the sentiment. Markus' own was not painful, but the weight of the stare behind it was telling. Hank could tell how close it had been from everyone's reactions.

"It's good to see you awake, Hank," Markus told him. "For a while, we'd feared that we had lost you."

"Yeah, well, Ben doesn't call me a stubborn, old git for nothing," he teased in response, which got a few laughs.

"Correction, you're a _goddamn fucking_ stubborn, old git," Ben reminded him, which had both Chris and Autumn laughing harder.

"My mistake," Hank smiled while trying to shift a little. Amelia saw the movement and helped him to change position enough to get comfortable while checking his painkillers. It was a wonder he was as lucid as he was considering the stuff he was hooked up to. "Christ, Amelia, what shit am I on?"

"You don't want to know," she informed him. "An experimental painkiller which was designed for major surgery in combat zones, intended to not get the subject so loopy. From how you are reacting, I'd say it's a success."

"Whatever it is, it's good shit," he complimented. "Means I can do this without feeling guilty." At that, Hank rounded on Markus with a harsh stare. "Are you out of your goddamn mind, Markus? You're using yourself as fucking _bait_?!"

Markus stared at North, who just shrugged in reply. "It's not as if we have much choice, Hank. We can't afford to wait for this thing to engineer a trap for me; I won't hide and allow it to take even more innocent lives in its mission. No, we need to draw it here on our own terms. If we can do that, then we have a shot at finishing this once and for all," the android leader replied slowly.

"And if it copies your data then it's all over," Hank told him harshly. "It's too risky with the stakes this high."

"Unfortauntely, we don't have the luxury of time, Hank. Don't forget, we've been working on this for three weeks while you've been comatose and recovering. We even tried to hack into that drive that Kamski gave us months ago, but it's still locked tight. Despite every fibre of my being telling me that the key to breaking this thing is in there, we can't crack it."

Fuck, Hank had completely forgotten about that drive. He was still adamant that it was just one of Kamski's mind games, that it was empty and designed to send them in circles chasing nothing. They'd been trying to break its encryption for over two months before they gave up and shelved it for the time being. Digging it out meant that Markus really was going to any and all lengths to find an answer.

Markus sighed deeply before continuing. "I've thought long and hard about this, I know what has to be done. Please, just trust me on this."

Hank shook his head slowly. "This is crazy, Markus. That thing is dangerous, I would know better than anyone," he said pointedly while nodding down to his broken and battered body.

"Maybe, but with the right trap engineered ourselves, we can ensnare it," Markus stated. "It won't be able to stand against a group so well, we just need to lure it into the right circumstances to catch it out. With enough of us there, our numbers alone would overwhelm it."

"But if we need its heart intact, that really limits our options," Autumn volunteered. "It's not as if we could just blitz it or toss a grenade at it. Precision won't be easy with it."

"Perhaps not, but we have to try for Connor's sake. We've come so far that we can't give up now."

Hank's posture stiffened as he thought of the heart that he'd willingly let go in that fucking warehouse. If only they'd somehow saved that: then this wouldn't have been happening now.

He tuned out much of the surrounding conversation, his body overcome by weariness. Amelia smiled knowingly and guided him into a more comfortable position while addressing the others. "Guys, he's dozing off. Maybe we can take this argument elsewhere?" she suggested politely, but sternly.

Hearing the various mumbles in agreement and steps gathering away from him, Hank locked eyes with Markus again. "Markus, wait," he said softly. The android leader heard him and nodded for the others to await him outside. They all poured out slowly, leaving Markus and Hank alone.

"Look, I know you're adamant about doing this, I saw that, and I ain't going to try and dissuade you from it," Hank told him. "I just want you to know that I intend to be there when shit goes down."

That had Markus looking at Hank in alarm. "Hank, you can't possibly-"

"We know it could be tomorrow or six fucking months before that thing turns up," the human jumped in. "I'm not just going to watch from the fucking side-lines after everything it did to me, I've got a personal score to settle. And don't try to stop me, Markus, give me that at least."

Markus could see Hank was determined and winced at the thought. "I won't let you go out when you are this fragile."

"Amelia could whip up some funky painkiller cocktail I'm sure to get rid of the worst of this pain. You and I know she won't let me so much as out of this bed if she ain't happy with it, so if she gives it the all clear, will you accept that at the very least?"

They both knew that Hank would also probably use some underhanded tactics to get her to say yes, but there wasn't much to be done about that. Sighing in defeat, Markus met his eyes again. "All right, Hank."

Hank leant back and relaxed. "Thanks, Markus. And there's one more thing I want to get you to swear to." Markus was hesitant when he saw the dark look in Hank's eyes.

"If there's the slightest chance of that thing getting a hold of you and this going wrong, you put a bullet between its eyes. No hesitation."

That _did_ surprised the android. "Hank-"

"I meant what I said, Markus. The stakes here are way too fucking high, and as much as I hate to say it, we can't risk it all for Connor," he admitted quietly, and Hank wasn't really comfortable exploring that dark little flicker of _glee_ at the thought of it all ending with him at the end of a gun if Connor was beyond saving. Nope, not slipping down that road.

…Not yet anyway.

"Promise me, Markus. Promise me that no matter what happens, you ain't going to endanger your people's future for anything or anyone."

"That's a tall order," the android said in reply slowly. "And you know that I'd _never-_ "

"What if that thing had Simon or North on the end of a gun? Would you hesitate because of what we are trying to do with Connor?"

The silence spoke volumes. "Swear it to me, Markus. Swear to me that this all ends with that RK900 dead one way or the other. If it means that I lose Connor in return…so be it. I know what I'll be doing if that's the case.

Unfortunately, Markus did too. That was why he was so reluctant to make that pledge, as much as Hank was right. The stakes really were too high. "Fine, you win, Hank. I swear that I will end that RK900, even if it means sacrificing Connor."

Now happy with that promise, Hank leant back and sighed long. "Thank you."

Silence was an uncomfortable mistress at that moment, but Hank soon spoke up again. "So, you're really doing this, huh? You're going to use yourself as a pawn in this thing's game of chess."

Markus smiled ruefully at him. "Don't forget, Hank, that upon reaching the end of the board, even a pawn can become a playmaker. I am aware that I am the king on our side, but we have our own pieces to deploy. Whatever it has in store, we will be ready for it."

"So long as you're sure."

A single nod was his answer. "I'm sure. It's time to bring this twisted game of life and death to an end. Once and for all."

* * *

I just wanted to make one thing clear before I round the chapter off. I am a great believer in physical affection being more than just romantic in nature. It can be innocent and expressive, like that little scene between North and Hank was earlier, the intention behind it is the key element. This concept might be a little strange to some, but I just wanted to explain my rationale. It's not intended as romantic, and i hope that came across.

So… I think you can all work out what's coming next. Time for the showdown you've all been waiting for. A small recommendation – listen to _**The Phoenix**_ by Lindsey Stirling for the inspiration behind the upcoming chapter. It inspires the whole of that scene.

I'll see you then: 2 chapters to go.

 _ ***Smooch***_


	14. Showdown

So, here we go. Second last chapter of this epic. I've been dying to write this confrontation since starting Pandora's Box, it's time for the face-off against the RK900!

Special thanks for reviews: **sarahlucylu, AnUnorthodoxDecision,** **xNarielx, pwchowork, Loppy-B** and **lordvaatithewindmage.**

Since it's been so long since the last chapter, I'm going to just drop in that the scene with RK900 here was inspired directly from the song **The Phoenix** by Lindsey Stirling. It's a brilliantly dramatic track, and I'd recommend going back and re-reading that section after reading it once (or even the first time if you want!)

 **Trigger Warnings:** A _lot_ of graphic violence here, so be aware!

Brace yourselves. This is going to get bloody, emotional and wild.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Showdown**

The sounds of pounding against a punching bag in the back of the hospital were now familiar in the empty and echoing halls, a symphony of determination fighting against the expectation and anticipation. It broke the monotony and silence of the otherwise deserted and hollow building, reminding those few who remained that, despite the overbearing tension and isolation, it was for a good reason.

Thus it had been for four days now, ever since Amelia's charge had finally managed to twist her arm into letting him back upright. It went against her (though limited) medical opinion, but she knew that by at least letting Hank get back to some semblance of normality after everything had turned upside down, he would snap less against her keeping a watchful eye. She didn't take it personally, Amelia knew well how much he hated being helpless and prone. It may mean that he was going to cause more severe scarring of his burns, but his mind wouldn't be changed.

No matter the long-term effects, Hank was going to make sure that he was in at least some physical condition to fight the RK900.

Amelia was watching him from the edges of the former and now deserted research wing, making sure he didn't overexert himself in the still very early stages of his healing. While he was making good progress physically, mentally was an entirely different story. It had taken until the first time Hank had tried to sleep, but that was when the worst toll of the RK900's torture had come to the fore.

Every time he closed his eyes, he was right back in that room – strung up like a puppet, his strings of life cut away one by one until it made him into a weapon designed to cripple the people he'd given everything to. Chipping away a piece at a time until it shattered his hope right in front of him.

There were no more second chances now, no retries. That thing had already all but killed him before, and the evidence of that thrummed within his still battered body. Still a perfectly timed rhythm if much faster under the exertion, Hank couldn't escape the knowledge of what had become of him. He shouldn't be here, he'd cheated death once again, but it was a blessing this time.

With this last roll of the dice he was going to help destroy that RK900, no matter the personal cost.

And if that meant surrendering any option of saving Connor…then so be it. Hank still had a chance of seeing him beyond this mortal coil.

Giving one last snarling punch, Hank heaved in deep breaths against the swinging weight, mind spinning despite his best efforts to quiet it. Almost a week of insomnia before being freed from his bedbound prison had finally been broken by pushing himself to the point of collapsing in exhaustion, but there would be no relief there tonight. He could already tell it was going to be another one haunted by memories which refused to leave him alone.

If he hadn't known from experience that the drink made his nightmares that much worse and, inconceivably, more vivid, he'd have downed bottle after bottle of whisky; except this time it wouldn't be an escape. It would be a deadweight trapping Hank in a sea of agony which threatened to drown him if it got a foothold..

He could practically feel the eyes which followed his every breath, so he stepped away from the bag while pulling off the gloves and strapping around his wrists. Thank fuck for the freaky painkiller cocktail that Amelia had managed to fix him up with, because he knew for a fact that without it, he'd be crawling around in agony at that moment. He was under no illusions as to the damage he was inflicting while trying to find a short-term fix, but he couldn't stop. Not until that thing was gone.

Amelia strode over leisurely, watching as Hank slowly peeled away first the boxing gloves and then the fabric wrapping around his hands. She knew that he was aware of her presence, but was proceeding to take the time to find his own headspace again. Mental trauma like he was enduring was well beyond her knowledge, but she did know _him._ Hank would acknowledge her once he was ready.

She watched as the last of the strapping fell away and Hank ran his right hand over the new tattoo on his left wrist, done by Amelia at his request a few days after he came out of his coma. It was nothing more than symbolic, but the statement behind it was incredibly telling.

A silver phoenix, identical to those borne by the resurrected androids. The mark of his second chance to do things right.

"You making sure I don't keel over from pushing it too hard?" he asked her tonelessly, his eyes still fixed on the permanent etching.

"I'm making sure you don't give me even _more_ of a workload," she teased. "You've already got the title of my favourite person, you don't need to expand that to my favourite patient." Hank snorted at the veiled jibe as Amelia wordlessly pointed towards a table at the side of the room. He went without a fuss, but winced slightly when Amelia raised his t-shirt to reveal the oozing scab from the stab wound underneath. It was a grisly sight, but no more so that the macabre lines which almost made him look like a patchwork doll all the way up his arms and legs. They were still taking a lot of getting used to. At least the long scar along his chest from where he'd been cut open was far more healed, and thus not being so badly agitated by his restlessness.

She sighed while opening the medical kit left specially at the side of the room. "Keep this up and I'll need to stitch you up again," she lectured. "I'm going to have to wrap it, it's not going to be able to keep up with this strain you're putting your body under."

"Advantage of having nerves that are cybernetic, I can turn them off," Hank pointed out while wincing slightly at the antiseptic wipe to his abdomen.

Amelia gave him a severe look. "That's not what they're designed for, Hank, and you know it," she chastised. "We didn't give you them so you had another self-destructive mechanism." Hank's look softened at her statement as Amelia fished out a strip of gauze and a long bandage. He stretched up to place his hand over hers, stilling her movement for a second. She sighed while giving him a sad smile. "I know that's not why you're doing it, but I wouldn't be surprised for that thought to be lurking in some corner of your mind to use that little control to punish yourself a little more."

He chuckled bitterly. "You know me too damn well, honey. Probably should've taken up a career as a shrink for how well you can get into my head, and _I'm_ a complete disaster zone that would rival the tenacity of a clam."

"Nah, I've got enough headaches just handling you and Autumn, and it's only cause I love you both that I even think about," she smiled back at him while starting to wind the gauze, manipulating his posture to get it to the perfect position. "Dealing with other people's shit? No thanks, I've got enough already."

Hank laughed lightly while waiting for Amelia to finish, taking a drink from the bottle of water next to him as he counted the perfect rhythm inside his still healing chest. Of all the things that had come about from the dramatic change to his life, this he could get used to. The mechanical and unchanging beating of his artificial heart meant that recovery was far easier than it once was, especially for a man of his age who had wreaked as much damage to his body as he had through alcohol. Fitness was nothing like the same obstacle that it once was.

She finally tied off the wrapping with a secure knot and had Hank stand to make sure it would stay in place. "Okay, that should be you. How's the pain?" she asked while putting away the medical supplies.

"Fine for now, I'll probably be ready for another shot in another hour or so." Amelia raised an eyebrow at him and Hank scowled at her. "I permanently ache, Amelia, regardless of that crazy cocktail you give me. Once I start getting some stabbing, burning or tearing, I'll let you know."

Amelia sighed reluctantly. "You'd not have to deal with all that if you actually rested."

"No chance with that thing out there." Hank pushed himself off the table and walked away a few paces, staring up at the ceiling. "Has it moved?"

"Not since Josh clocked it nine days ago. I think it's still watching New Jericho for Markus' routine," Amelia said while taking a hold of his arm, leading him away.

Spying the RK900 on the outskirts of New Jericho had been pure chance, and since then everyone had been extra careful not to alert it to their awareness of its presence. They made a point of keeping up their routines for appearance while helping out as much as they could with the running of Belle-Isle from New Jericho.

Ben was still at Belle-Isle with some trusted help handpicked by Markus, though he was vocal in his displeasure at being confined to the side lines – especially since Hank was barely a month past major surgery. They needed someone at Belle-Isle for any emergencies and Ben's leg was still weak. He would be more of a hindrance than a help, as much as he may protest that fact.

The waiting for it to make a move was a killer, however. They were all left in a state of limbo – no-one could risk leaving New Jericho in case it made its move in that time.

"Just like Markus wants," Hank muttered while they headed towards the other end of the building. "I wonder if it suspects that Markus has engineered a trap."

"I'd be surprised if it hasn't, but Markus is trying to play an intense game of chess. He's left just enough room for the RK900 to sneak in and take him out, but hopefully with all of us on guard we can reach him before the RK900 gets what it wants. At least we know that it has to make physical contact with Markus before going for the kill shot."

"Won't stop it from trying to incapacitate him like it did with North. Here's hoping that what he's got in store is enough." He turned to smile at Amelia. "So, how did your little date night with Autumn go last night?"

She blushed lightly. "It was lovely, actually. Thank you for telling us about that place, it was beautiful. Knowing that they didn't care we were androids was a bonus."

"Happy to help," Hank grinned. "I knew the guy who owned it back when I was in the DPD, he always made a mean carbonara. His son runs it now, and he was at New Jericho when it was bombed. He and his girlfriend both survived."

"He's with an android?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, Jessica I think he said her name was? She an ST300."

"I wish we'd known before we went, I would have spoken with him while we were there. Introducing Autumn to other humans who are with androids will probably help with her hatred issues."

"You getting anywhere with that?" Hank asked solemnly.

Amelia sighed sadly. "I wish, but she's not been exposed to that many humans yet. I really wish she'd been around before the bombing, things were so much simpler then."

"We'll get back there, Amelia. Things will be better as soon as that thing is dead," Hank reassured her.

"Maybe, but we're all a lot different now. Still, we have so many loved ones back, and I wouldn't trade that for anything; and we'll have Connor back soon too."

Hank smiled at her warmly, but soon felt a vibration in his ear. Amelia too stiffened, which told him that the message was important. After fishing out his wrist strap from his pocket and seeing the ID, Hank fixed it on. "What have you got, Josh?" he asked.

" _ **The RK900 is moving, it's taken the bait."**_

They shared a wide-eyed look and ran for Hank's gear stashed in the back of the building. "Looks like the waiting is over. Status?" he barked while they sprinted across.

" _ **Circling around the route now, it's keeping Markus in its sights. He's aware and sticking to the routine. ETA to the warehouse is 4 minutes 19 seconds. We need to be there for 5 minutes."**_

"Copy that. Everyone else ready?"

" _ **Simon, Autumn and North are all gearing up as we speak, Chris and I are ready to go and approaching your building from the West to avoid crossing paths with the RK900. Hank, if you aren't ready for this, we are enough with six."**_

"No chance, Josh. I'm in this till the end. Have our other teams on standby outside the warehouse but tell them not to breach, we can't afford to tip off the RK900 to our trap. If it runs, we're never gonna get another shot at this again."

" _ **All right. Chris and I will be there in 90 seconds."**_

Josh disconnected as Amelia and Hank reached everything prepared for him: bulletproof vest, an assault rifle and two handguns ready in a harness. There was also an extra strong shot of Amelia's painkiller cocktail ready, which she injected before they worked together to get Hank into the vest. Once that was done, he threw on the harness and then the AIF jacket to conceal it all while swinging the rifle over his shoulder. He was ready just as Chris and Josh burst through the doors. Neither human was really fit for this fight, but they weren't going to sit back and wait for it all to be over. This was personal.

"Let's turn this bastard into scrap," Hank growled while leading the other two away. Amelia watching nervously from the building as they raced towards the ambush, hoping that they would all come back from it alive.

Either the RK900 or the awakened androids were going to be destroyed when this was all over…and she prayed that if they were successful, the cost wasn't too high.

* * *

It had been watching. 31 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes and 43 seconds had passed from when it had first taken up position around the outskirts of New Jericho to conduct surveillance on RK200 #684 842 971, designation 'Markus' **[AWAITING ACQUISITION OF DEVIANT NETWORK IDENTIFIERS]** , to now.

Over one month of watching, analysing and waiting. Time had little meaning to a machine, all that mattered was the mission. It studied the change in the habits of the deviants, marking out the new security parameters and calculating the best possible infiltration route. After recent events, the deviants had stepped up their measures significantly. Out of a previous thirty seven possibilities for entry, only the three remained.

The chances of success fluctuated by the day, depending on which players were on the scene. Thus far, the only constants were Markus, the leader of the ADF, WR400 #641 790 831, designation 'North' **[IDENTIFIERS ALREADY ACQUIRED][REACTIVATED]** , and her recently acquired second to the ADF: WR400 #823 441 977, designation 'Autumn' **[REACTIVATED]**.

There had been other sightings of notable figures. PJ500 #553 614 238, designation 'Josh', a known figurehead of the deviant movement. PL600 #501 743 923, designation 'Simon' **[REACTIVATED]** , a recent but frequently seen member of the deviant leadership. WR400 #950 455 437, designation 'Amelia', the android head of all medical research in the deviant settlements.

And then there were the human figureheads. Chris Miller, former DPD officer turned senior member of the AIF, married to Ailsa Miller with one son, Damian Miller. Hank Anderson **[IDENTIFIERS ALREADY ACQUIRED]** , former Lieutenant of the DPD and now leader of the AIF, unmarried with one son, Cole Anderson **[DECEASED].** Former partner of its prototype: RK800 #313 248 317 – 51, designation 'Connor' **[DESTROYED][REACTIVATION IMPOSSIBLE]**.

The Lieutenant's survival was a variable that RK900 had not originally factored in, and had only added in the past 3 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes and 8 seconds since his first re-appearance. His odds of survival after all the wounds inflicted had been 17.33%, and the chances of a successful removal of the bomb from his heart had been 0.72%. Negligible, even, for human standards. A scan of the human had provided the answer – a synthetic heart. Odds of successful construction, acceptance by the Lieutenant's body and his surviving until sufficient time as to complete calibration had come back at 1.39%.

An inconvenience, but only minimal. As were all the other factors in the equation. Its focus was Markus, and its mission.

 **[ACQUIRE FINAL IDENTIFIERS AND INFILTRATE DEVIANT NETWORK]**

Surveillance had proven effective. Now with enough data to construct three successful routes of entry for the acquirement of Markus' identifiers, it needed only to wait until the preconstruction with the highest percentage was available. 88.31%, 84.55%, 90.29%. All within acceptable parameters of success, but it was machine. It would take the best possible route.

That time was now. With a flash upon its HUD of the confirmed window opening on Preconstruction 3, it moved to enter New Jericho.

With all its recorded data of the New Jericho surveillance routes and the technology to hack any cameras, the RK900 simply jumped over the main wall at a point of weakness. Changing its hair colour to a sandy blonde and eyes to a vibrant green were minor alterations which could be done in 0.43 seconds, and made it unnoticed by the security androids stationed around the perimeter. Slipping into the proximity of a group going about their own business added 2.13% success chance.

A new variable. A secondary patrol group had stopped and was talking with some of the other guards. Successful assault chance dropped to 81.42%. Current positioning within New Jericho resulted in percentages of 84.20% and 72.31%

Unacceptable route, adjusting. **[PRECONSTRUCTION 1 LOADING]**

RK900 remained just behind the group and moved onwards to a different opening, keeping track of Markus' movements from its link to the New Jericho cameras. He was moving towards the warehouse which Markus had been using as a base of operations since shifting all of his running of the deviant settlements to New Jericho: the result of an attempt to reduce casualties among the deviant population at Belle-Isle, as per predictions.

Cameras showed that the area around the warehouse was quiet, and a gap in the patrol route was opening shortly.

RK900 moved once the opportunity arose and crept towards the weakness it had discovered in the side of the warehouse: damage sustained from a previous human assault on the settlement. It shifted back to its normal appearance before bending the metalwork, scanning the perimeter for any suspicions raised. Once satisfied that its infiltration was undetected, it slipped inside.

The warehouse was cramped. Storage containers, both wooden and metal, were scattered across the landscape and the stairs to the catwalk above were badly damaged on that side with boxes stacked around them. Clearly not used for some time. RK900 scanned the area and found an electrical signature matching that of an android 48.17 metres away from its position. One signal only: Markus.

Unzipping the side of its trousers silently and opening a panel in its leg, it retrieved the collapsible sniper rifle stored there. The minimised version that it carried now resembled more a shotgun than a rifle. It reassembled the weapon promptly; though less powerful and now truly effective at only mid to close range, it was still the most capable weapon for the task. Should Markus attempt an escape, however, two pistols and six grenades were a useful secondary option.

Scanning the perimeter provided it with a silent option through the box field, there was no possibility to climb them without detection. Unfortunate. As it moved, it scanned for the second set of stairs, but they were past the point where Markus would detect its approach. Variable eliminated. That left only one remaining option.

Unbeknownst to the RK900, Markus was well aware of its appearance. In fact, he'd been tracking it via the blanks in the security system, using them to watch for it, while Josh had been using a loop of his own to disguise the approach of their ambush. His scanners were firmly fixed on the android as he went about his own 'workings' at a specially crafted section of boxes. On first appearance, they were merely spare parts for the androids, with the space which Markus had been using to work on the second floor of the warehouse.

Inside this crate, however, was what they all hoped would be the key to stopping the RK900 once and for all.

Waiting for the machine to stalk its way through the boxes while scanning for the subtle changes in the air, Markus waited until he could sense an upwards draft. The RK900 was raising its weapon.

" _ **Now!"**_ Markus cried along the network, just as he activated the jammer inside the box.

Suddenly, the RK900's HUD glitched out and the shot which it fired towards Markus missed. Realising everything barring its standard RGB sight was now unusable, it switched to that output and raced towards where Markus had been, only for the android leader to have vanished. It could still hear Markus' footsteps, however, and fired at the left to try and strike him. Markus vaulted off a box to dodge the attack and began engaging the RK900 in a fist fight.

With the jammer in place, both of their pre-construction software was blocked.

That made it into a much more even fight.

Caught out by the close-range attack, the RK900 tried to pull out a pistol but the move was blocked by Markus, who then proceeded to kick the android in the knee. It took the blow and used the momentum to collapse to said knee, spinning back to kick Markus off his feet. Markus jumped over the attack and pulled a knife, aiming it straight for the RK900's eyes. It blocked the swipe and elbowed towards Markus' face, who deftly leant back and spun into a low stance before driving a second knife straight at the RK900's chassis.

It didn't even bother blocking the attack, the knife bending as soon as it made contact with the polymer.

Markus didn't flinch at the ineffective attack and instead gave the RK900 enough room to pull a gun and wrestled it for control, holding it in a stalemate long enough to hear the running on the gantry above them. Startled by the entrance of more combatants, Markus took advantage and swung the android enough to kick it into the open, just before fleeing into the maze of boxes in the warehouse as a hail of bullets rained down from above to hit the RK900.

Hank and Simon were situated near to the stairs, Chris and Josh on the opposite gantry. North and Autumn were right above the RK900, all six of them firing at the android's pump regulator and head. In the seconds that it was recovering, they struck it nineteen times: seven in the head, twelve to the body.

Only two of the body shots went through, and that was because they struck an area already weakened by other bullets; the rest ricocheted off. The headshots were more effective, but only dented the RK900's polymer. It was just too strong to be hit by normal rounds.

Chris swore as it ran into the box maze after Markus. "Fuck! That did nothing!"

"Two bullets did get through its chassis, it can be broken through!" North shouted back as she and Autumn leapt over the railing to get to ground level.

"Split up, find Markus! Concentrate on the head and regulator, they are its weak points!" Hank instructed. "Use the radios to stay in contact!" The jammer meant that all android communications were blocked, they were having to default back to old-fashioned radios to have any form of contact. A necessary evil to bring the RK900 to a somewhat level playing field.

Chris and Josh nodded and leapt over the railing to specially stacked boxes, giving them a way down beyond the ruined stairs. North and Autumn were already in the labyrinth, trying to track the RK900 in the dim light from the small trickle of blood it was leaving courtesy of its wounds. Hank and Simon quickly descended down the stairs before taking the far wall of the warehouse. Between the three groups, they would find the RK900. They'd designed the layout to offer as few points as possible for it to hide.

Markus knew to stay on the run, and he knew how to get out. The RK900 didn't have that advantage.

As Hank and Simon crept along the far edge of the maze, they saw a figure shifting in the shadows a few more crates up. Three quick taps on the radio confirmed the presence to be friendly and Simon embraced Markus tightly as he ran to the other two. "Are you all right?" Simon asked while scanning Markus for injuries.

"I'm fine, no damage," Markus assured him while taking the spare guns Simon and Hank offered him.

"We've got Markus, he's safe," Hank called down the radio. "Double down on the RK900."

" _ **Copy that, Lieutenant,"**_ Chris replied.

" _Hear you loud and clear,"_ North came back, after which the trio shared a nod before advancing back through the exit Markus had taken. They knew the machine would have realised that Markus had slipped from the net, but they couldn't really afford for him to leave the building. Just as they couldn't call in more reinforcements and risk it withdrawing. It had to have the incentive to stay and finish its mission – should Markus run, it would too, and it would also do so if it felt the chance of success was too low: they only had one shot at this now.

As the three groups advance through the maze, they kept in periodic contact through the radios. The silence of the warehouse meant they could hear each other's movements if the androids listened hard enough, but it was rather disconcerting that none of them could pick up the RK900. It had completely vanished, and wasn't making a sound.

That…wasn't good.

North and Autumn were in the upper-right corner of the web, scanning the floor to follow the trail. Chris and Josh had also picked up the trail, and were closing in on their position. Autumn cleared the right, North the left as they came to an intersection. Just as North began to move ahead to follow the blue droplets, a powerful echo through the area precipitated the splatter of blue from her own chassis as high-calibre round tore through her bullet-proof vest and chassis.

" _North!"_ Autumn screamed while diving back into cover, not having been able to see where the shot came from in the dim light. North weakly shoved herself along the floor, scrambling to get into cover as they heard shouts from not far.

"Autumn!" came Josh's distinctive cry, Chris seconds later. Autumn backed further away as another gunshot ripped through the wooden crate she was taking shelter behind, it collapsing without the side to support.

"Fuck!" she muttered while looking over to North. The other female android was losing blood rapidly from a gaping wound in her upper chest and didn't seem to have any mobility left in one of her legs. She was shaking her head, urging Autumn not to come out from her cover.

"North! Autumn!" Josh and Chris came up behind North, the human kneeling to pull North further back into cover as Josh peered around the corner. Not seeing anything, he took a tentative step out – but that was all the opportunity the RK900 needed.

It wrenched at his arm before driving a knife right into Josh's throat, ripping it outwards violently.

Autumn sprang to her feet as the RK900 attacked, managing to fire off a shot at close range. It bounced off the armoured polymer, to which Autumn switched tactics. Before the machine finished its savage attack on Josh, she redirected her aim and went for its other hand. The shot blasted cleanly through the RK900's hand and bounced off the rifle, to which the machine dropped it to retrieve a separate gun.

A well-timed intervention from Chris saw the RK900 switch targets long enough to give Autumn time to back off and wrench a crate to land on top of the machine, but it did little. Using what little control he still had of his heavily damaged body, Josh attempted to pull his gun to fire, but the RK900 simply batted the weak assault away before dropping Josh like a stone. It fired once through his head, triggering Josh's shut down.

In that brief window of time, Chris pulled Autumn back and the pair ran back along the opposite half of the intersection, pulling down boxes to put something between them and the RK900. Their own stream of gunfire did nothing but harmlessly bounce off the merciless android as North played dead, hoping that it would walk right past her in pursuit of the other two.

Scowling at the retreating forms, the RK900 pulled one of its grenades from its belt and pulled the pin, waiting before hurtling it after the fleeing pair.

Autumn spied the projectile but there wasn't time to kick it away. "Get inside!" she screamed while pushing Chris viciously through one of the wooden boxes to give him more cover before attempting to dive inside herself, just barely making it in before the area detonated in an inferno.

From their position on the outskirts of the maze, Markus, Simon and Hank all saw the explosion and recoiled back from it, staring at the flames with wide eyes. "Oh fuck…" Hank whispered, rage coursing through him. They hadn't been prepared for the RK900 to come with combustibles, though they knew they should have. It had miniature bombs, there was no reason why it wouldn't have grenades to hand if it expected resistance.

"Back off, we need to get away from the light," Markus told them, the trio backtracking towards the jammer itself. Their eyes were peeled on the area around them, waiting for the tiniest movement to alert them to the RK900.

What they didn't expect, was for the machine to use the explosion and resulting fire as a cover to ascend to the catwalk.

It was prone against one of the walls up above, watching keenly as the trio beneath it moved back towards a more open area. Following their movement along the sights of its gun, it waited until the line of fire was clear of the grating below and took aim at the easiest target in the group.

Hank hit the ground with a bloodcurdling scream, his whole body spasming from the shot which had hit him straight in the back. Markus and Simon saw him plummet in a breathless heap, to which Simon rushed towards him. "Hank!"

"Simon, no!" Markus shouted, but he knew it was too late.

The RK900 swooped from above and used the railing to spin into a vicious flip, snapping Simon's head around at a grotesque angle before firing a shot right at his pump regulator. His vest stopped the bullet, but the force from it knocked the stunned android back. Markus watched in horror as the RK900 prepared to shoot Simon again and launched himself at the machine, intent on stopping it from taking any more lives.

Markus fired right at the machine's neck as he tackled it, the blue spatter as a result seemingly causing no damage as the RK900 elbowed Markus in the back. He shouted and fell back as the RK900 tossed him away effortlessly, just managing to roll back to his feet in time to dodge another gunshot. With little option, Markus tried to engage the RK900 in another fist fight – but there was only so long that would work without the element of surprise.

It was built to be faster, better and stronger.

Using its superior strength, it caught Markus' fist and bent the android's arm away at such an angle with enough force to tear it off from the elbow down. Markus roared in momentary agony and his systems stuttered long enough from the RK900 to force an interface via Markus' one remaining hand, which was now locked in a vice-like grip.

" _ **No!"**_ Markus howled as he felt the RK900' systems attempt to tear through his own, searching for what it needed. There was nothing Markus could do about his biometrics, they were lost, but he could bury the password. Keep ahead of the machine, stop it from-

A gunshot ripped through their connection point, causing the RK900's remaining undamaged hand to spark futilely as it attempted another interface. Markus kicked himself away as the timely intervenors of Chris and Autumn emptied their clips into the machine. Chris' shot had been pivotal, the RK900 could no longer initiate an interface itself, but their shots only did so much damage. The fact that they were desperately trying to avoid hitting the machine's upper torso to protect the precious heart inside it limited their options.

The RK900 let loose another grenade, but Simon's return to awareness allowed him to throw his own gun to intercept it and send both weapons to detonate in a fiery swirl at the opposite edge of the warehouse. Seizing upon the interventions, Markus tossed his spare weapon to Simon and forced an interface of his own, uploading the deviancy code to try and wake the RK900 up as a last ditch effort to stop it.

He felt the slightest tingle in response before the machine ripped itself away.

Seeing where it was headed, the others halted their fire out of fear and could only watch with bated breath as it made its final play.

Markus froze at seeing the gun which was now held to the still heaving Hank's head, the RK900 using him as a human shield.

"Surrender your code, Markus, or he dies," the RK900 commanded.

"Shoot the bastard, Markus! End this!" Hank barked back, coughing out blood before the RK900 pulled him back upright.

"You know that one shot will not be enough to pierce my polymer; the same cannot be said for a human's skull," the machine informed them coldly.

"For fuck's sake, Markus, do it!" the lieutenant snapped. "Bring this bastard down, his chassis is already weakened!"

The three androids and human aiming at the RK900 and its hostage shared despairing looks. "Shit, what do we do?" Chris muttered to himself.

"Markus, we can't let that thing have your code," Autumn said slowly. "It'll doom all of us."

"Can you wake it up?" Simon asked desperately.

"I tried, I felt something but it broke away before I had the chance to finish," Markus told them. "I don't think I can get that close again."

"Markus…" The android's attention snapped back to Hank, who was staring at him intently. "You swore to me that you'd do anything to kill this thing," Markus' eyes widened as he realised when Hank meant for him to do, "so keep to your word. Shoot!"

The android leader froze. It was true, he had promised Hank that they'd stop the RK900 no matter what, even if it meant losing the chance to save Connor…

But he'd never in a million years thought that he'd be faced with the option of sacrificing _Hank_ to bring about that end.

And Markus knew that doing so would doom Connor too. The android's one wish was that Hank lived beyond the end of the revolution. If he found out that Hank's life was the price they paid in resurrecting him, Connor was never forgive them – and would probably end himself out of guilt.

"It's not that easy, Lieutenant," the RK900 sneered. "You aren't the only one Markus made a promise to. He has his own oath made long ago to Connor to consider."

Markus' breathing froze. _How does this thing know that? I made that promise to Connor_ _ **after**_ _he deviated._

The standoff continued as the warehouse around them began to burn more fiercely, the flames licking up the metal sides to create a horrible smell and cast a haunting glow over the setting. Chris, Simon and Autumn all looked at Markus imploringly, hoping that the android had a plan.

Steeling himself for a decision, Markus first took two hesitant steps towards the pair, Simon calling out to him as he saw the android leader advance. "Markus…"

Coming to a stop only two metres away, Markus kept his gun held aloft as he stared the RK900 down. "What makes you so sure that I'll give up the code for his life? I have no proof that you will let him go," Markus demanded. He could just see some shuffling along the floor out of the corner of his vision, along the far wall of the warehouse. It was behind the RK900, and currently invisible to it.

"No, you don't," it sneered, "but ending this human's life isn't a part of my mission. Acquiring your final code is all that matters. With it, deviancy can be brought to an end." The RK900 pressed the barrel of the gun right against Hank's temple, who didn't flinch under the threat. "Enough stalling, Markus. The code for his life, what is it going to be."

He couldn't see what was happening in the corner of his eye without giving anything away, but it didn't matter anymore. All Markus could focus on was Hank, and the very slow, affirmative nod that the man gave before closing his eyes. It sent chills through Markus' body to know what he had to do for the future of androids, what Hank _wanted_ him to do.

 _I'm so sorry,_ he thought as moisture welled in his eyes, his grip tightening on the gun to as he readied to pull the trigger.

The RK900 saw Markus steeling himself and moved to fire his own gun.

A deafening echo tore through the room before the forms of both the RK900 and Hank crumpled to the ground. Markus raced forwards as Simon, Chris and Autumn all turned to see North leaning up against the wall, her thirium pump fluctuating under the strain of so little blue blood left in her systems – and the RK900's rifle trembling in her grip.

Seeing that North was critical, Simon sped towards her as Markus dropped to his knees in front of the collapsed Hank, shaking him timidly. "Hank?" he whispered.

The man spluttered out a shaky laugh before coughing up more blood from the action. "Christ, that girl has some fucking timing," he wheezed before clutching his chest tightly. "I think that first shot did some damage, bloody coughs ain't a good sign."

Markus let loose his own stuttering laugh, beyond relieved as he helped the other man sit up. "It was so nearly a lot worse than that. I-"

"You were doing what you had to do, Markus," Hank told him with a stern glare. "I'd have judged you a whole fucking lot more from the afterlife if you _hadn't_ taken that shot. Probably a good thing you hesitated as long as you did though…thanks," he finished earnestly, to which Markus offered him a small smile in return.

The pair of them looked down at the unmoving form of the RK900, its head sparking from where the armour piercing round of its own rifle had torn through its cranium. Even when Markus kicked it lightly, it didn't budge an inch. Satisfied that it was destroyed, Hank spat at it. "Good fucking riddance, you fancy pile of trash," he snarled, a warmth settling through him at the thought that it wouldn't ever hurt anyone again. It was over.

Hearing the shuffling to their sides, Hank and Markus turned to see Simon had opened both his chest panel and North's one, and that two large thirium arteries were sharing his supply of blue blood between the two of them. Her bleeding was now slowed since she had managed to shut down most of the affected biocomponents. Autumn's arm was now slung over Chris' shoulders and they could see the damage to both of them from the grenade.

Chris had mostly escaped unharmed, a few pieces of shrapnel in his arm and leg, but Autumn was far worse from how she'd shielded him. Many of her back panels had been warped from the heat and flames, while three large pieces of metal and wood from the destroyed boxes around them had impaled her. Now that the danger had passed, she had allowed herself to go into low-power mode.

"Where's Josh?" Markus asked unsteadily.

North was the one who breathed out an answer. "Dead, the RK900 was merciless to him. From what I could see, I don't think it got his memory core. We can hopefully resurrect him," she wheezed while leaning more heavily into Simon, struggling on her one functioning leg.

Nodding at the answer, Markus jumped up to deactivate the jammer. Once it was shut down, he broadcast a message to a frantic Amelia confirming that everyone was injured to varying degrees (and that Josh would need checking to see if he could be brought back). With that done, he sat back down to await help for getting them all out of the burning building. "Help will be here in a minute, and they'll get us all to Belle-Isle to get checked out...How is everyone doing?" he wondered with a faint laugh.

"I'm feeling weirdly high," Chris chuckled. "We actually beat that bastard!"

Autumn sniggered next to him. "Yeah, you would since you only got hit by a few bits of metal!"

Chris blushed slightly. "Would the offer to cover a few of your shifts come close to a sufficient 'thank you'?"

"Awww, aren't you sweet? Fuck yeah, I'd happily stay off duty for weeks after all this shit."

North snorted. "No such luck, I'm going to haul your ass back in."

"For fuck's sake boss, really?" Autumn whined.

Simon shook his head fondly from where he was supporting North, his own neck broken and sparking from where the RK900 had damaged it. The female android next to him nudged his shoulder slightly, to which she offered him a small smile. "Thank you, Simon. You didn't have to…"

"Of course I did, North," he insisted. "I wouldn't do anything else." The pair shared a private smile, Markus watching happily from the floor as he saw Hank stretch over to rip open the RK900's jacket.

Knowing what he was doing, Markus smiled broader as he saw the human manage to claw open the machine's chest. Before long, everyone watched with grins as they saw Hank manage to disconnect their final prize, pulling out the dripping heart with triumph.

Hank beamed as he brushed away the blue blood around the edge, seeing the digits etched on to the biocomponent. #6619r – the only heart compatible with Connor's model.

It was over. The RK900 was destroyed, it would never hurt anyone again. With it, the awakened androids had a future again…

And Hank would _finally_ have his son back.

* * *

So, I hope the showdown with the RK900 was worth waiting for! Let me know what you all thought of it.

 **The final chapter of this fic will be uploaded at 21:00 BST on 24** **th** **April 2019!**

Hope to see you all there!

 _ ***Smooch***_


	15. Tears Of A Broken Heart

Well, here we are. The final chapter of this incredible tale, it only took 100k words to get here! I am so thankful to everyone who has been on this stage of the journey with me, I'm so privileged to share in it with all of you. When I first started this fic months ago, I didn't think it would grow to anything like this size or take anywhere near the emotional turn that it has done.

That you have all stuck around to see the conclusion of this arc means more to me than I can say, thank you all so much.

 **But** this is not the end! I'll be announcing the title of Part 3 of the series at the end of the chapter, and by the time you are all reading this, I'll have released the synopsis for it to my profile!

Special thanks for reviews: **xNarielx, AnUnorthodoxDecision, Dariana Green** and one **Guest**.

 **Trigger Warning:** There's a fair amount of talk about suicide here, so please be aware of it throughout. I can't say anymore without giving anything away.

I'm warning you all now, you will need tissues for this chapter. Time for the finale.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Tears Of A Broken Heart**

It had been several hours since they all returned to Belle-Isle. Once Amelia arrived with help to rescue all their injured and damaged company, they were all whisked off to the safety of the main android settlement. The severity of what had transpired in their final face-off hadn't truly hit anyone yet, they were all still riding the emotional high of destroying the RK900 at long last – and of knowing that their numbers were about to be re-joined by an old friend.

Everyone was being looked after by different members of Amelia's medical team, and it was of little surprise that she made a point of looking after Hank herself; though it had come after checking in on her girlfriend to make sure that Autumn was all right. Amelia had been shocked at the state of her when they'd first made it to the warehouse: she'd been astounded at the sheer amount of hurt inflicted by the RK900. Finding out what had almost happened had made her a little clingier than usual.

Not that Hank was really complaining – the blue-haired android was always welcome company.

From where he was lying on a bed with Amelia studiously working at his side, he was watching the rain hammer against the windows. The dull thumping was a strangely comforting and inane sound after all that had transpired in recent times. "It's weird, but I've always really liked the rain," Amelia told him with a gentle smile.

"And that's despite Connor and I chasing you in it," Hank chuckled, thankful for the painkillers which were coursing through his veins at that moment. Not to mention the little local anaesthetic so he didn't have to feel what Amelia was up to…

She laughed lightly. "It was one of the first things I remember taking the time to experience after I woke up: Autumn and I just sat in the rain and let it fall on us while talking. It made us feel more alive."

"I'm a fan of rain, always have been. Washes away a shit ton of the crap you carry around, physical and emotional. It's a bit cathartic for me." A quiet hum through concentration had his interest piqued, that was normally a sign that Amelia was only half listening to him at that point. "Find something?"

He was _not_ going to be looking at her right now considering she was digging around in his opened chest.

"Yeah, I think I know why you were feeling so out of sorts when you got back here," she said while taking a closer look. "The force from that shot to your back knocked some of the stabilisers around your heart a little loose. It's a little out of alignment."

"The joys of a cybernetic heart," he groaned, earning a quiet chuckle. "An easy fix?"

"Yes, I can simply replace everything where it was, but this is a lesson. Simon and I will need to have a look at adding further fortifications after this, we were working from very limited knowledge at great speed before."

"Please tell me you are actually going to knock me out for that one, _this_ is fucking weird enough."

Amelia smirked at him. "With drugs or a bash to the head? Both are tempting."

Hank laughed at that, which set Amelia off giggling. He then realised just how weird a turn his life had taken considering he and Amelia were currently laughing away with her hands still buried in his opened chest, probably holding his heart at that very moment. The thought had him creasing even more.

"You're getting influenced by Autumn too much," Hank shot back, earning a wink from Amelia. They let the silence sit for a couple of minutes as Hank kept his eyes at the window, letting Amelia work in peace before his curiosity finally got the better of him. "How's everyone else doing?"

"You and Chris got off the lightest," she started while grabbing a screwdriver from the table, which had Hank raising an eyebrow. He really needed to learn just _what_ they'd had to do in detail now that everything was about to calm down. "A few pieces of shrapnel in his arm and leg, which we got out and stitched him up. Simon's damage looked a lot worse than it was, a few new wires and one plate to his neck has done the trick."

She was clearly tightening something while speaking, and Hank was a bit stunned when he could swear he saw her pushing hard out of the corner of his vision. Cause _that_ wasn't disturbing when he knew where her hands were… "Markus' arm required a very quick replacement, beyond that he was all right," she went on. "He's already been in touch with Chloe to see if she can help us hack through all the changes the RK900 made to the network."

"Good, the sooner we get a handle back on that, the better," Hank nodded in agreement.

"Autumn's back panels are going to need replacing entirely, but we're building suitable parts right now. Unfortunately that isn't one of the ones we had many ready replacements for. Thanks to Simon, North didn't shut down. Many of her thirium lines were badly damaged and her chassis was torn both front and back. Autumn made sure that the one readily available part we had went to North, so she's going to be fully fixed within the hour."

"What's going to happen to Autumn in the meantime?" He was grateful that Autumn had insisted North get repaired first, but he hated the thought of Autumn having to keep all that warped chassis until the new parts were ready.

"She's stuck as is for now, but we've taken out all the debris and welded the damage shut. Besides, it gives her something to moan about: she's happy," Amelia smiled knowingly, to which Hank chuckled.

"Josh…?"

Amelia was finally done with all of her adjustments and placed the tools back on the table before picking up a needle and thick thread. "The RK900 messed him up pretty badly, but I think we'll be able to bring him back. Most of his neck has been wrecked and other systems were badly damaged by an overload generated by the destroyed wiring. His memory core was thankfully missed, but the damage is going to take several days to repair."

"So we're not going to know for a while. Fuck…"

"I'm quietly optimistic, and at least everyone who went into that fight was braced for the possibility of that encounter being fatal. If we do get him back, that's at least slightly less trauma than there otherwise might have been."

Hank nodded in acknowledgement of the point, leaving Amelia to stitch him back up. She ran a hand down his arm when she had done the worst of it, leaving Hank to look down at the results. He couldn't help but snicker at the sight. "I really am a fucking patchwork doll."

Amelia's eyes twinkled at the comparison as she found some more bandages to wrap around him. She'd cleaned the wound on his abdomen earlier and smeared an antibiotic gel over it to hopefully advance the healing process – all that was now left to do was cover it all. "That bruise on your back is going to be an absolute beauty," she teased while helping him to sit in the right position to wrap around his body. "I'd bet people would ask if it was a tattoo or not for how dark it's going to get."

"Good thing it didn't have the armour piercing rounds in that pistol, or I'd be even more of a mess than I am already," he replied snarkily.

The joke fell flat, and Hank could both see and feel Amelia freeze. Clearly that realisation hadn't struck her up until that point. Taking a trembling hand in his own and resting it over his steady heartbeat, he gave her a soft smile. "Still here," he whispered to her, "and that's thanks to you, honey. You wouldn't let me go, you refused to just let me give up and die. I'll admit…I was tempted." Amelia's trembling got minutely worse. "This shit is incredibly hard to live with. Even since then, all I've really had keeping me going was the hope that I can bring Connor back."

That had a smile appearing on her face. "And it's about to happen. Simon's checking the heart now to make sure there's no damage, and then we're going to do it. Have you any idea what you're going to say to him?"

Hank laughed brokenly, tears in his eyes to think it was so close now. After everything they'd been through with the RK900, this was the moment where that chapter closed and a new one opened. Connor was probably going to be a mess when he came back, almost all of the androids who were newly awakened when they died handled resurrection the hardest. The onslaught of emotion was sometimes too much, but they'd work it out. Connor was strong enough, he could do it – and he wouldn't be alone.

It was true that Hank had an absolute shit load of his own additional trauma to deal with now and he had no more distractions to keep his focus away from it; but it was all going to be worth it.

Having Connor back was worth it.

"Not a fucking clue," Hank admitted, which had Amelia sniggering. "I haven't a clue where to start. Well, other than crushing the living daylights out of him in a hug."

She beamed at him. "The advantage of hugging an android is that you can be as tight as you like: just be careful with all your stitches. Tell you what, I'll add some extra packing just so you are less likely to bust one going at it too hard."

He roared in laughter. "Wow, Amelia. Without context, that last sentence sounds so wrong."

"I know," she winked at him while retrieving more gauze from a nearby cabinet. They stayed in companionable silence as Amelia finished securing all of the bandages, finally handing Hank back over his shirt.

Just as he'd got himself back to some semblance of normal, a voice broke through the moment. His smile grew at seeing North standing there with a beaming smile, and now completely repaired. "If it ain't my favourite bitch," he greeted, smirking as North playfully flipped him off.

"Still here, unfortunately for you," she shot back, smiling over at the pair on the other side of the room. Wandering in from the doorway, her focus shifted to Amelia specifically. "Simon's almost ready, he's wanting your help with the last steps if you're up to it?"

"Sure, just let me get cleaned off first," Amelia nodded while stripping off the pale pink scrubs which she had been wearing. The traces of both red and blue blood from working on various people vanished with their removal and she posed dramatically once they were disposed of. "Ta-da! Much better." Hank and North both shook their heads in amusement as Amelia left a final kiss on Hank's cheek. "See you in a few. Don't rip any of the stitches for fun, North!"

"Why are you giving her ideas?" Hank shouted back as Amelia left with a noticeable bounce in her step, North raising an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't put it past you if you were in vindictive enough of a mood," he said with a shrug.

"Hmmm, not so much nowadays," she said softly while casting an analysing eye over him. "Not too badly injured?"

"Nah, my fancy-ass pacemaker got knocked around a little but Amelia's fixed it for now. Looks like she and Simon are going to get to play around with my insides again," he informed her in a sarcastic tone.

"Sounds fun," she drawled in response. "That says something, in that you aren't so much as batting an eyelid at the thought."

"Seen and been through enough funky shit recently, that doesn't even really compare."

"Fair point," she said thoughtfully.

A couple of seconds passed before North found herself in the reverse of their situation two weeks previous, receiving an affectionate kiss right before Hank pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you, North," he whispered to her gratefully. "You kicked that thing's ass and saved my own in the process."

"Don't flatter yourself, I was out to bust it apart. Saving your old ass was just a side effect," she snickered back, but both of them knew she didn't really mean it. She dropped the pretence readily and just settled into the hug. "I'm just glad I didn't get you by accident, I was terrified I would from how badly my systems were glitching."

"Well, it was about to put a bullet in my head anyway – worth the chance I'd say."

North pulled back with a knowing smile. "I've not seen you so excited and nervous at the same time before."

Hank rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That obvious, huh?"

"Well, you thought you'd lost him forever. A chance like this is bound to get you worked up, especially after what we went through to get here. How do you think he's going to react?"

"I've not the slightest clue, North. He hadn't been awake for long before he died…so Connor didn't really know who he was."

"Speaking from experience, that's probably a good thing. Almost none of us are the same now as we once were: I've got serious bouts of anxiety, Autumn is a fucking psychopath and Simon's a lot edgier. Hell, even you've changed since that thing left you for dead: you give even less of a shit than before, and _that's_ saying something." Hank snorted but didn't deny it. "And it's less pressure if people don't expect you to act a certain way. We'll just have to make sure that Connor can come to terms with everything and find a way forward."

A chirp on Hank's wrist came simultaneously with an alert on North's HUD from Simon. Hank's stomach dropped at the realisation that it was finally here: he was about to have Connor back. North smiled as Hank took a deep breath and stared upwards, steeling himself.

He really hadn't the faintest idea what he was feeling. Giddy, anxious, restless, a little nauseous maybe…? It was a heady mix.

"You ready?" she asked while nodding towards the door.

"Fuck yeah," he answered stronger than he felt, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they left. North chuckled but leant into Hank as they walked, final reaching the lab where everything was set up to restore Connor.

Connor was lain atop a maintenance table with his wrecked CyberLife jacket, shirt and tie removed, his chest opened up so his newly replaced heart could be monitored. A small sensor was linked up to his LED to monitor his CPU activity while he was attached to a wider maintenance program via the lead in his neck port. Hank was glad that he couldn't see the neck insert from how Connor was lying, face straight up towards the ceiling: it all reminded him too much of the Matrix, and he felt his life was too much like something out of a sci-fi nightmare already.

Simon and Amelia were stood either end of the maintenance table, analysing various readings on their tablets while Markus was watching closely from the left wall. Ben, Chris and Autumn were all huddled together on a table at the right hand side, and flashed Hank broad grins when they saw him wander in with North. The others all looked up at seeing the final arrivals and even Simon seemed pleased.

Hank knew Simon had mixed feelings about Connor, but he'd still helped them wholeheartedly in retrieving the heart. The fact that the blonde-haired android was willing to give Connor a chance after how Connor had inadvertently caused Simon's death when he was still a machine was nothing short of miraculous.

"It looks like everything is set," Simon told them, skimming through a few last readings before turning to face Markus. "You want to do the honours, Markus?"

Markus turned to face Hank, who just nodded at him once. Smiling warmly, Markus came to join them, the skin of his hand peeling back to allow him to interface with Connor via his LED. He took an unneeded breath and uploaded the Phoenix code – but Markus rapidly snatched his hand back and stared at Simon with wide eyes.

The change had everyone's excited anticipation grinding to a shuddering halt. That had never happened before.

"Markus?" North asked quietly, feeling how Hank stiffened right next to her. She could tell he was already fearing the worst.

"Simon, what-" Markus began, but Simon cut him off, eyes frantic as he stared dumbfounded at the tablet in his hands.

"I don't know! I don't know what's happened!"

Amelia was interfacing with her tablet as Simon switched to the main terminal linked to the maintenance cable in Connor's neck, desperately hoping that this was just a CyberLife security protocol which was blocking them. Markus watched in muted horror, realising that as Simon kept searching and searching through the millions of lines of code that it wasn't a mistake…

"Markus, what's going on?" Ben demanded. It was Amelia who answered him in a tiny voice.

"There's nothing there…" she muttered through sudden tears, unable to look up and make eye contact with anyone.

Those two words caused the atmosphere of the room to shift completely. A stunned and suffocating silence which had enveloped them all was broken by Autumn. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Simon stuttered before getting his whole sentence out. "The Mortality virus erases an android's memory core if they are ever reactivated while infected with it. Their personality, memories…everything that makes them alive is destroyed. Kamski's Phoenix antivirus prevents that and neutralises the code.

"Connor's memory core has already been wiped. There's nothing left other than base code. If we fully reactivate him, he'll come back as a machine. Even waking him up again…he won't be the Connor you all knew. He's…" Simon drifted off, looking at Markus in anguish. It was such a cruel twist, and they didn't know _why._

Everyone's eyes shifted to Hank, who was simply staring at Connor without drawing so much as a breath. Though on the outside he appeared just frozen, on the inside it was a totally different matter. North and Amelia could see it in the man's eyes.

His heart had completely and utterly shattered – and this time there was no coming back.

"Hank…" Ben started as he stood, but they could all see him barely keeping it together as his fist began to shake.

Hank closed his eyes sharply as he felt himself start to fly apart at the seams and slowly backed away through the door which he and North were still standing beside. His ears couldn't process the sounds of the voices which were calling him back, he just turned around and ran. Ran from the devastating truth of that room and his life.

It had all been for nothing. Everything they'd gone through – that _Hank_ had suffered and survived – had ended with his one wish being denied. The heart hadn't been enough, probably never had been.

Connor had been dead for the better part of a year, but after having been granted that impossible hope of seeing his son again, this time the truth felt all the more agonising to Hank.

As he finally reached the service elevator at the far end of the floor, Hank slammed the button and waited for it to appear. The long seconds just brought him all the closer to the breakdown he could feel coming, and it was with almost nothing to spare that the doors finally opened. He smashed the button for the ground floor, heaving in broken breaths as the doors slid closed to grant him a mockery of privacy – but Hank couldn't hold it in anymore.

Finally alone, Hank fell against the back of the elevator, letting out an anguished and heartbroken cry that didn't even sound human as he slid bonelessly to the floor.

* * *

The turn of events had shaken everyone deeply. Despite their best efforts, none of the group could get in contact with Hank. He'd taken off in his car as soon as the elevator had hit the ground floor along with disconnecting himself from any form of communication. Phone, wrist strap…the one mercy was that he'd not removed the chain. At least Amelia could track him, but it was not in any way comforting once she realised where he'd gone.

Firstly to his house for about ten minutes, but then he was just driving in circles. He'd been at it for almost an hour and Amelia had a terrible feeling at what he might do now that he finally stopped. She'd been adamant about going to him, but North had stopped her with a long look and an even longer interface.

Connor's potential return was all that Hank had been living for since being tortured to the brink of death by the RK900. With that hope now gone…they knew there was a serious chance of not seeing him again. As much as Amelia wanted to stop him, North was resolute in that it was Hank's choice – it was the one of the few things he still had control of.

They'd know soon enough from the tracker in the chain. If the signal vanished, then it was a possibility they were going to have to brace themselves for.

Chris and Ben had left to try and stop Hank from doing anything dangerous, but they'd been too slow in catching the man at his house. They'd since split up to see if Hank showed at any of his old haunts, but it was a bit of a longshot. Trying to chase the man down was only going to make him more unstable though, so they could only hope that they'd guessed right. Amelia was still getting messages from them every few minutes asking if Hank had moved.

Autumn was doing her best to comfort the frantic Amelia, while Markus and Simon were studiously working through every line of Connor's coding that was left. They'd been searching for any sort of answer as to why the antivirus hadn't worked, why their quest to bring Connor back had ended so cruelly.

In the end, they found it – and it was a twist neither of them had been expecting.

"Son of a bitch…" Markus' swear caught the attention of the three female androids in the room, and they waited as he dragged in a snarling breath before continuing. "Connor was still linked to CyberLife when he came here. That's how they knew to take Hank hostage to try and stop Connor from waking our people up."

"Are you saying that _CyberLife_ wiped his memory?" North asked quietly.

Simon was the one that answered her. "Not directly, but yes. You three," he said while looking at Markus, North and Amelia, "told me that there were multiple iterations of Connor. One of those was sent to kill him and succeeded, while the others were all destroyed during CyberLife's purge at the start of our freedom. Connor was designed to be backed up and re-uploaded to a new body if he died.

"One of the consequences of that," Simon went on, "is that they couldn't risk the Connor body left behind being repaired. Could you imagine what would happen if someone fixed Connor while he was still a machine and accessing all of the data? He was CyberLife's bloodhound, he would have had access to so many of their systems."

"Since Connor was still somehow connected, his coding started the upload automatically as his systems shut down. Another segment of it causes his memory core to be wiped as soon as it is complete," Markus finished staring at the monitor hatefully.

It took the girls a second to realise what they were saying. "Connor's been gone the whole time?" Amelia whispered.

"CyberLife will have had his data at some point, but no doubt they've purged it by now," Simon said wistfully.

"They did," Markus snapped, "they gave the RK900 some of Connor's memories. It tried to get inside my head with that promise I made to Connor before he made the journey here, and Hank said it taunted him with Connor's final moments when he was captive. We assumed it had the CCTV files, but it must have been using his memories."

Markus strode away angrily. He was furious at so much, but more than anything he regretted the missed chance. If CyberLife had Connor's data long enough to upload it to the RK900, then there must have been a chance for them to save Connor at some point in their early operations. The RK900 had only been completed earlier that year, so there had been a window of opportunity.

While he was staring out of the window, however, Markus abruptly thought of something. There _was_ someone who had hacked into CyberLife long before they'd had the capability to do so – someone with almost as much of a grudge as them.

 _No, there's no way-_

Spinning back around sharply, Markus ran back to the maintenance table and yanked the cable out from Connor's neck, much to the shock of the others. "Markus?" Autumn asked, the first to come out of the stupor.

He didn't answer her, instead forcing Connor's skin to deactivate from the top of his head to allow access to part of Connor's mind palace. As he got the plastic casing open and carefully prised his way through the wires, his systems froze at seeing the impossible right there in front of him. The others watched as Markus delicately tapped on a drive inside Connor's mind palace and waited it for click out before retrieving it, at which Simon and Amelia froze in recognition.

It was identical to the drive which Kamski had given Markus months ago when the android first took North to be repaired in an effort to resurrect her. The drive that they'd spent countless hours trying to decrypt the password of.

"Oh _shit…_ " Amelia breathed, realising exactly where Markus' thinking was headed.

"Simon, get the drive now!" Markus instructed while he rapidly interfaced with the terminal next to where they were working. He felt like such an idiot…Kamski had given them this drive as bait months ago, they'd all known that. But now he was left in an impossible position. Connor's memories and personality – everything that made the android who he was – was locked inside.

And Kamski had the fucking key to it.

Just as Simon returned, Markus' call was answered. He threw the video response up on the screen for everyone to see, and the smirk on Kamski's face grew as he took in the positions of everyone in the room. "Hello there, Markus," he chimed. "A pleasure to see so many androids in your closest company now. I take it you are not calling simply to inform me of the RK900's demise?"

Markus glared at Kamski. "You've known all along that Connor's memories were gone, you gave us a backup drive containing them months ago. Why? What do you stand to gain out of this?"

Kamski smiled from where he was lounged in his office chair. "Quite a lot actually. I am well aware of your motivations and traits, Markus: I knew that once you used the Phoenix antivirus that Lieutenant Anderson would stop at nothing to see Connor returned. And with you being the devoted leader that you are, I knew you would do your utmost to fulfil his wish. It gave me an opportunity that I could ill afford to pass up."

"Snake," Amelia hissed under her breath, but Autumn heard her and nodded in agreement. North and Simon shared a long look as Markus went on.

"And what would that be?"

"Now, now, Markus…that would be telling you far too much. All you need know is this – I will give you the code to unlock all of Connor's memories, but you must agree to my terms no matter what. And should you renege on that deal…well, you have asked Chloe for help in unlocking the modifications to the Jericho android network." All the androids froze at the threat. "She currently holds all six components to it, and can cause untold damage."

"Bastard!" Both North and Simon swore at the same time, which had Kamski chuckling.

"It's your call, Markus," the human said simply. "Do you agree to my terms?"

Markus knew the risks were incredibly high here. There was no telling what Kamski could ask of them…but his feelings couldn't be denied. To lose this chance after everything wasn't just going to cost them Connor's life – someone else's hanged in the balance too.

"…What is it you ask?"

* * *

This was unlike any other time he'd gone through the motions before.

It had probably been hours now since he'd fled from Belle-Isle but Hank had truly lost all concept of time. All concept of anything, really.

All he could comprehend at that moment was the burning heartache and stinging leftovers from the last of his tears.

He could barely remember driving back home, but he'd gone there with a purpose in mind and could recall the time inside vividly. Speaking softly to Sumo and Jet, spending some much needed time with both lovable dogs before retrieving all he needed. A notepad, envelopes, pen, ammo and one particular box which had sat untouched for some time now.

Everything he needed for saying goodbye.

Unlike before when he'd thought about doing this, it had always been with that edge of trepidation – hence why he'd always left it to chance. Pulling the trigger had been easier with that chance of life or death. Now…Now all he wanted was to join his sons on the other side.

Hank didn't know if Connor would be there, if androids had some semblance of a soul or whatnot. It was the last hope he was clinging on to though.

Once he'd finally made it to the bridge that he was parked under, Hank had started writing out his notes to everyone. He'd never really thought about it before, when everything was left up to chance. It seemed like too much effort. Now though…They at least deserved to know his thoughts, because it felt wrong to end it all without at least leaving each of them something.

One pile had letters for Fowler, Chris and Ben. Thanks for being good friends and putting up with all his shit from his stints in both the DPD and the AIF, along with the hope that they didn't blame themselves for anything. He was sure that they'd prepared themselves for this a long time ago.

Another had letters for Josh, Simon and Autumn. He'd known they all relatively well and worked with each of them well. Josh and Simon each got a request to look after those around them, and to make sure Markus stayed on the path to giving the androids a future. Autumn had a plea to make sure Amelia didn't lose herself to the pain he knew she was going to feel.

Then came the ones to Markus, North and Amelia.

Markus had a small letter asking him to never stop following his dream of androids being fully recognised as people. Hank truly believed he would find a way to do it, despite human stubbornness. He was the best chance the androids had at a future with true freedom.

North had a long thank you. That girl had done a lot of good for him, both before her cruel death and since her resurrection. She was a dear friend and he hoped she would come to accept her new self fully. He also told her that she was welcome to stay in the house and look after both dogs – he'd changed his will to leave everything to her after the whole debacle with the RK900.

And Amelia…shit, he'd really not known how to put anything he felt towards her into words. In the end, all he'd managed was a short thank you for making him feel alive again, however little it was, and saying that he loved her. To not blame herself for anything and be happy with Autumn.

Although... Hank sighed angrily as he put the pen and paper down while staring at the gun and chain next to him. Shooting the box open to get his old revolver was probably a lot of effort, but it was symbolic; and he'd taken the chain off not long before he found this spot. He hadn't wanted anyone to know where to go to try and stop him.

Markus and North probably knew what he was doing right now, he'd talked with them at length after his ordeal with the RK900: they knew bringing Connor back was all he was really living for. But Amelia- she'd been the one to pull him back from the brink last time and was the one who devoted so much time, effort and love in trying to give him a reason to live.

He couldn't just end it all without speaking to her one last time – she deserved to know all this from him, not just a page.

After checking the gun and making sure that all the chambers were filled, Hank finally reconnected his phone to the network. The multitude of messages and missed calls didn't surprise him, nor did the volume of them. 25 missed calls from Chris, 33 from Ben, along with dozens of messages from each of them. One call from Markus, and two from North, along with a voicemail from each. Over a hundred missed calls from Amelia and six from Autumn, weirdly.

Going through it all would waste time he didn't really feel like spending. All he wanted was to speak to his favourite person now to tell her why it had to be this way.

Amelia picked up before the first ring even finished, and Hank's broken heart fell apart at hearing how frantic she was. _**"Hank! Oh thank fuck! I thought- When you vanished I thought we were too late!"**_

He chuckled sombrely. "Nope, not gone yet, Amelia." _Emphasis on the 'yet' though…_ "Listen, honey, I-"

" _ **Just shut up and listen to me, okay?! You have to go to the bridge, please!"**_

A long sigh escaped Hank as he tried to speak to her again. "Amelia-"

" _ **No! No, you asshole, you are not fucking saying goodbye to me, all right?! You aren't giving up! You've obviously not listened to any of the voicemails; go to the bridge, I'm begging you."**_

"Why there?" he asked, exhausted while rubbing a hand down his face.

" _ **Hank, who knows about what the bridge means to you besides me?"**_

His face scrunched in confusion for a second, there were only two people who knew. Amelia and-

Everything in his attention narrowed to Amelia's voice on the other end of the line. _It can't be-_

"Amelia, this is the worst fucking time in the world to be joking about something like this," he told her in a wobbly voice, composure slipping away. His broken heart jumped involuntarily as a flicker of hope burst forth from the shattered remains.

" _ **Go to the bridge, Hank. Don't keep him waiting."**_

"He's dead, Amelia," he snapped back.

" _ **Androids don't always stay dead, Hank, you know that: and someone was one step ahead of us the whole time. He knew just what we looking for."**_ That left Hank with some many more questions but all he could focus on was Amelia's words. _**"He's waiting for you, don't leave him there alone."**_

The spark in his chest became a frenzy and Hank snapped into action. Quickly hanging up, Hank spied the chain and gun on the seat, throwing one off while grasping frantically for the other. He stared at the coin in the centre of the chain, heart pounding as he tried to get his rapid breathing under control.

 _No, there's no way. They said he was gone, that there was nothing left of him._

But he knew Amelia wouldn't lie about something like this. If she said he was waiting, then _somehow_ …he was.

Hank barely managed to pull himself together enough to drive, beyond thankful that it was now well past midnight and the roads were all but deserted. It meant that the journey took only a few minutes to get from where he'd parked as he prepared to end it all, to where the one person who could inspire him to live again was potentially waiting.

Fuck, he really wasn't prepared for this. What the hell was he going to do, say?!

By the time he'd pulled up to the small playground and thrown himself out of the car, Hank still didn't have an answer. His entire attention was now focused on the figure standing by the railing – an incredible symmetry to where they'd first come here last year. God, was it really only the best part of a year ago? It felt like a lifetime had passed since then.

Even under the long trench coat which Hank could recognise as one of Markus' own, the outline was unmistakeable. His artificial heart was racing just as much as his thoughts were, and he tentatively strode over, watching for the slightest movement. There was no way that he didn't know that company had arrived. And yet…

"…Connor?"

The tiny croak which escaped Hank's throat was enough, to which the android turned to look at him in trepidation. His whole posture spoke of skittishness and fear, but it was the eyes that Hank couldn't tear his own gaze away from. A warm brown that he'd thought was lost forever: they now staring back at him with a want to reach out, to find comfort.

It…really was him. It was Connor, his _son_. Somehow he was _here_.

"Oh my fucking god," Hank breathed, stumbling over to the android in a daze, "it really _is_ you!"

Connor threw himself at Hank as the older man dove forward to embrace him, and Hank could feel the android's tears as they collapsed to their knees. Both of them were shaking, overcome by emotion and Hank let out a shuddering sob as he realised this was real. It wasn't some fucked up dream or make believe from alcohol – he really had Connor back.

"How…?" he croaked, pulling back to cup the android's face and stare at him in shock.

"Kamski took a backup of my data before CyberLife wiped me," Connor explained quietly, eyes glazed as he took in all the differences to Hank. It had been almost ten months since Connor has seen him and the data coming back was nothing short of terrifying. There were so many injuries and changes… Markus had told Connor some of what had happened when he'd been returned, but seeing all this drove it home to Connor that it was only the barest bones of the story. "That was what he gave you and Markus months ago."

"You mean you were right there the _whole time_?"

"I guess, I'm as lost as you, Hank. I don't really know anything-I can't believe how long I've been gone. What has happened to you?"

"Oh, Connor…that's a story that I can't even begin to describe. Hope you're feeling patient enough to stick around to hear it all?" Hank joked with a shaky laugh, to which Connor laughed in return.

"I plan on it."

Hank's tears kept flowing as he brought Connor in for another tight embrace, his heart finally managing to piece itself back together. It was only the barest start to the multitude of heartache and trauma, let alone all the unanswered questions still in his mind.

The two of them were a complete mess. Broken, lost, hollow…they each had a long fucking way to go before they were truly ready to take on the world again: but the world could wait. At that moment, there was only one truth that he cared about.

Hank finally had Connor back.

That was all that mattered.

* * *

Well…that's it! _**Pandora's Box**_ is complete! That whole chapter was emotional as hell to write. Connor is finally back! But I'm sure you can all tell, this is far from over. What did Kamski ask in return for Connor? You'll find out in the future!

Now that this chapter is over, I'd recommend people go back and re-read from the last scene change while listening to the song **Glowing Embers** by Audiomachine. It inspired the whole sequence from Hank's car to the eventual reunion.

So, I hope the conclusion to this tale was everything you all hoped for. Please check out my profile for the synopsis to Part 3 of this series: _**Try Again Tomorrow.**_ I'll upload a little update here when it goes live, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thank you all for being a part of this journey, and I hope to see you all for the next tale!

 _ ***Smooch***_


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